New Moons
by Goatsplus
Summary: A stranger of 15, caught somewhere between a boy and a man walks the streets of his home. Jasper City. It has been many years since he was here last and it's certain that if he's to make a life here it won't be easy; the pretty blonde girl he meets in the alley is just the beginning.
1. Chapter 1: Return to Jasper

**Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not own Alpha and Omega nor the characters from it. I do own my OC's however. The characters and events in this story are not real nor are intended to reflect or represent any real life persons. Any similarities herein are purely coincidental. Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 1: Return to Jasper**

One frosty afternoon in Jasper City a young man exited a small convenience store, plastic bag in hand. After double checking the contents he sighed, pulling his jacket a little tighter as he crossed the road and headed down the street. A small grin came across his face as he noticed the way his breath fogged up before his face, the familiar sight reminding him that he was home once more. As he continued down the road, a loud tearing sound ripped him from his idle thoughts. Curious, he peered into the dim alley, noticing a young blonde girl with her back to the wall, arms crossed to cover her bare chest, the remains of her clothing scattered on the floor as the three men moved in closer. 'Nothing quite like home.' He thought to himself with a sigh, placing his bag against the wall and stepping forward.

 **Kate's POV:**

"Don't be shy now baby. Show us the goods." Kate glared up at her assailants, pulling her arms tighter around herself, trying, fairly vainly, to stave off both the cold air that bit her skin as well as the distasteful looks she was subject to from the three of them. "Such a harsh stare-" he started to continue but was cut off.

"Hey!" A single word, spoken with authority at a volume nearing a yell echoed through the alleyway, snatching the attention of everyone there, four pairs of eyes swinging towards the road. Kate looked at the newcomer with surprise, this was East Jasper after all, most people would walk away swiftly seeing a scene like this.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the gangsters spat rudely, cracking his knuckles in an attempt to intimidate the young man. Kate took a moment to inspect him a little, taking in the somewhat militaristic boots, the ripped jeans and the dark leather jacket, accented with some kind of fur. It was too dark to make out his face but he seemed quite tall. After looking left and right as though expecting to see someone else standing there he leaned forwards a little, pointing towards himself in a sarcastic gesture that said, "Me?".

Kate felt a slight smile creep onto her face, although the others present didn't seem to find it so amusing, the one closest to him clenching his hands into fists as he stepped forwards, an angry look on his face as the other two stared in amazement at the bizarre scene before them. The young man stepped back a little, a nervous chuckle escaping him as he raised his hands in a placating gesture, "I don't want any trouble." He said but Kate knew it was useless as the one approaching him let out a cruel laugh. 'Nothing to save him from a beating now..." Kate thought to herself, 'Except...' She turned back to the two nearest to her, their attention completely away from her.

 **Newcomer's POV:**

I backed away slowly, keeping my hands up between myself and the oncoming, increasingly angry gangster. I knew what would happen if I stayed here much longer but I had done what I had intended, I just hoped the girl in the back had the wherewithal to use this opportunity to escape now that I had all the attention on me.

"It's been a while since I met an upstart like you. I'm gonna enjoy this." The angry, rather squat and fairly ugly man before me said. Before I could reply I heard a sound that drew my attention over his shoulder. The origin of the slightly hollow metallic sound became clear as I saw the girl was now standing, still covering her chest with one hand and a baseball bat in the other as one of the thugs lay motionless on the floor and the other was on his knees, hands clasped between his legs as he let out a series of painful whimpers. I couldn't help but chuckle at the way this had unfolded, I expected her to run away, not nut one and KO the other. I had a grin on my face as I looked back towards the final gangster, the shocked look of his face making the beating I had risked receiving almost worth it.

The bat swung once more, nailing the incapacitated gangster and knocking him out as well, that familiar hollow sound ringing through the alley as he slumped over to join his friend. Seeing that those two had been dealt with, the girl redirected her glare towards the final remaining assailant, raising the bat as she stalked towards him. Not possessing the mental capacity to process what he was seeing, he merely stood frozen as she stepped forwards and swung the bat once more, sending him to join his friends as directly as possible.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate let the bat slip from her hand as the gangster hit the floor, letting out her pent up breath and letting her shoulders slump a little. "They should've paid in advance..." She heard someone say in an amused tone from behind her. She jumped a little and turned around, a slight scowl hitting her face as she wasn't in the mood for humour right at that moment. Now that they were closer and more in the light she took a moment to get a closer look, slightly surprised to find that he was around her age, with short black hair and stormy grey eyes.

After a moment or two he cleared his throat and looked away, scratching the back of his neck a little. She realized she'd been staring a bit and looked back towards the sleeping bodies on the floor taking in the scene along with the remains of her shirt on the floor. Suddenly it hit her why he'd acted so awkwardly, her cheeks heating up quickly as she brought her other arm back up across her chest with a small yelp. Hearing a zipping noise she turned back to see that he had taken off his jacket and was holding it out to her, still half looking away with a little colour in his cheeks.

Taking the offered article she turned away and began to slide it on. Immediately she noticed that it was incredibly warm, though she didn't know whether that was because he'd been wearing it or the jacket itself; probably both. She also realized that it was amazingly comfortable, the leather was soft and supple and the fur seemed real, but she couldn't tell. 'Must have cost a small fortune.' She thought to herself.

 **Newcomer's POV:**

I looked away once more as she took the jacket and turned away to put it on, the white button-up shirt I was left with doing zip to keep out the cold despite the full length sleeves. Not that I minded too much having grown up in the cold. "You can look now." I heard her say and I turned around, a smile on my face.

"That's a relief, I was worried that I'd have to go through life blind from now on." I joked, taking in her features properly. 'Definitely pretty,' I thought to myself, her blonde hair and slightly tan complexion a rarity in these parts. Her yellow-brown eyes matched her blonde hair perfectly and her features transformed from pretty to stunning as she smiled a bit at my joke and walked past me out of the alley.

"I wouldn't be too sure." She said lightly, "There's still plenty of time. Now come on, I'd rather not hang around until they wake up." Doing as I was told I picked up my shopping and followed her out, walking quickly for a few steps to catch up.


	2. Chapter 2: Fighting Spirit

**Chapter 2: Fighting Spirit**

 **Newcomer's POV:**

I caught up and matched pace with the girl as we walked side by side down the street for a little in silence. As we crossed the road on the edge of the block she spoke, "I didn't ask for your help you know." I looked sidelong at her, about to reply in my usual jovial fashion when something about the shortness in her tone caused me to pause. 'I suppose growing up here you'd get used to strangers only acting for their own benefit.' I thought to myself, 'Must think I want something in return.' Out loud however, I said,

"I know, and clearly you didn't need it either." I spoke seriously, referring to the way she handled them. "Besides I didn't really do anything, just took a wrong turn." I said with a small smile. I saw her shoot me a curious look, as though trying to figure out if I was for real. Eventually she faced forwards again smiling a little.

"So long as we're clear." She said.

 **Kate's POV:**

'What a weirdo.' She thought to herself as they walked. After a minute or so of silent walking she couldn't figure out why he helped her, without asking if she wanted help, and now he was pretending he didn't even do anything. For a stranger no less! With an almost silent huff of frustration she gave up trying to figure him out. He was still walking beside her, hands on the back of his head, seemingly affected by neither the silence nor the cold.

"So, what's your name?" She asked, breaking the silence once more. As she spoke he stopped walking, turning to face her as she did likewise.

"Forgive me, the name's Humphrey. Humphrey Miller." He said, grinning as he offered his hand. After a moment she took it, noticing his grip was firm but not overly strong like some of her dad's... acquaintances. She swore sometimes they were trying to crush her hand.

"My name's Kate..." She paused, letting her voice trail off as she deliberated whether or not to tell him her last name. 'To hell with it.', "Kate Spencer." She finished, watching him for some kind of reaction, but he just smiled even more, continuing to defy her expectations.

"Well Kate, the pleasure's all mine." He said, giving a little bow before gesturing that they continue walking. As they moved on he spoke up quickly, making her wonder whether he was just waiting to see if she wanted to talk or not.

"So Kate, do you... live in the area." He asked, waving his hand a little at their surroundings.

"Hmmm? No not at all. Why?" She replied, wondering why he would infer that.

"Well I was just wondering how a nice girl like you came to be in an alleyway like that?" He clarified as they stopped, waiting for the lights to change so that they could cross the road.

"My dad is meeting a... business associate. He owns a boxing gym nearby. I was on my way back from getting a snack at that convenience store when it happened." She said, wondering if he had noticed her hesitation.

"Ah, I see. Makes sense."

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I frowned internally for a moment as Kate hesitated, though I showed nothing outwardly.

"So whereabouts do _you_ live?" She asked me, putting emphasis on the word you. I thought about saying something but decided not to bother.

"Actually I just arrived in Jasper City today. I had just left a meeting when I ran into you." I said, pausing for a moment since I actually had no idea what to do, my original plan being six feet under at this point, both figuratively and literally. "I was planning on visiting family but that's not really an option now. I guess I'll... get a hotel and figure it out tomorrow?" I finished, chuckling a little at the vagueness of my circumstances. Kate fell silent, looking like she was deep in thought, so I took the opportunity to look at the building we were passing.

"By the way Kate, what does that gym look like?" I said, stopping as I pointed towards the sign on the building behind us that read: Fighting Spirit Boxing Gym.

Kate looked up, turning around when she realized I had stopped. "Huh? Oh that's it." She said, giving a small, somewhat embarrassed smile. We stood like that for a moment in silence before I burst out laughing.

"Good to see one of us is paying attention." I managed to get out between laughs. She smiled a little more as she back tracked, moving towards the entrance. As she passed me she punched my shoulder lightly, "Shut up." This only made me laugh more as I followed her in, managing to compose myself as I entered, not wanting to disturb whoever was in there.

 **Kate's POV:**

Although she was annoyed Kate couldn't help smiling as I entered the gym, 'It _is_ pretty funny", she thought to herself as she walked into the marginally warmer gym. She didn't know why but Humphrey's attitude was infectious.

"Wow, it's been a long time since I was in a boxing gym. Brings back memories." Humphrey said from behind her as he entered and looked around. She followed suit and looked around, noticing that a few of the small number of boxers had looked up as they entered but had quickly returned to their training. Suddenly she realized what Humphrey had said and turned back to him,

"So are you a boxer or something? How come you've been to gyms before?" She asked.

"Hmmm? Not exactly. I lived with a family in Russia for a while and their son was a boxer, few years older than me." He replied, walking over to the ring in the middle of the gym and running a hand along the top rope a little.

"While I was there he taught me some of the basics, though I was never anywhere near his level." He finished. 'Wow, wasn't expecting that.' Kate thought to herself, admittedly she just expected to hear he'd tried it as a kid or something trivial like that. She was about to ask him another question when she noticed that one of the other patrons had come over and was standing right behind them.

"Max, what are you doing?" One of the boxer's to the side asked the one who'd approached us as she and Humphrey turned to face him. "Quiet." Max snapped back, to which he just shrugged and returned to what he was doing. Kate took an instant disliking to him, for one thing he was too close and for another she could feel his superior attitude as he stood there.

"Can I help you?" Humphrey asked politely, stepping in front of Kate a little with a warm smile.

"That's my question." Was the reply.


	3. Chapter 3: Bare your fangs

**Chapter 3: Bare your fangs**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I wasn't sure if this guy was actually trying to pick a fight or if that was just the way he was but I chose to ignore it, keeping the smile on my face. He was a fairly big guy, slightly taller than me but probably weighing about the same, giving him an appearance that would likely be described as lanky. He had long brown hair that was tied back in a functional ponytail that, given where we were, probably had nothing to do with trying to be fashionable.

"No we're fine thanks, just waiting for her dad to finish his meeting." I replied, adding a little firmness to my tone in the hope that he would take a hint. My hopes were dashed however as he frowned, stepping forwards again, now uncomfortably close to us.

"Well go and wait somewhere else. We're here to train and you're interrupting. Or are you too thick to notice?" He said, looking angry with us as he gestured around the gym. I looked around myself and noticed that everyone was now looking at us, watching the scene unfold. 'The only one interrupting is you by causing a scene.' I thought to myself as Kate spoke up, "What!? It's freezing outside!" She yelled, stepping forwards herself looking seriously pissed.

"Huh?" Max replied, swinging his gaze to her, equally angry. As he was about to say something else I put myself between them, one on Kate's shoulder to hold her back and the other towards the irate sportsman.

"Come on we didn't mean to interrupt and we're not hurting anyone." I say, forcing my face to twist into a friendly smile as Kate looked at me in disbelief, smacking my hand off her shoulder.

"What? You're just gonna take this?" She asked, thankfully no longer yelling but clearly still mad.

"Hey it's not worth fighting over right?" I said, making a calming gesture with my hands to which she replied with a huff.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate let out an exasperated huff and turned away, closing her eyes as she tried to calm her fuming nerves. 'He's right, it's not worth a fight.' She thought to herself, turning back around after a moment to show Humphrey that she had calmed down to which he smiled.

"You should listen to him Hun, girls like you don't belong here." Kate was shocked. First he comes over to pick a fight and now a sexist comment when they were already leaving? She was going to wipe that arrogant smirk off his mug she thought to herself, however as she opened her mouth to reply Humphrey beat her to it.

"You're right. She clearly doesn't belong in a gym with second-rater like you who needs to pick fights with strangers to prove he's a big man." He said, putting his arm out to block her, though it wasn't with the same gentleness that he'd used before, it was like he was ordering her to stay back. Kate was about to get angry when she noticed his body language; his other hand was already clenched into a fist and although he was still smiling slightly it fell far short of his eyes. She was surprised he was suddenly so worked up after remaining so calm through this jerk's previous attempts to start a fight. Speaking of whom she turned back to see him laugh humourlessly, "You willing to back that up little man? Or are you gonna let your little bitch fight your battles? She certainly seems to have more fight in her than you." Despite how she was Kate couldn't miss the confidence behind his words, sexist jerk or not he was a boxer.

"I'd prefer not to fight you but unless you take back what you said about Kate we're going to have a serious problem." Humphrey practically snarled, wearing an expression of cold anger as he faced him down, not backing up an inch. Kate watched on silently, feeling as though her chest had been filled with cobwebs, stopping her from breathing. The two stood silently for a moment longer before Max gestured towards the ring.

"Put some gloves and headgear on, I don't want to kill you." He said, getting into the ring himself as he was already kitted up. "Hmph." Humphrey smirked, walking over to the general supplies locker as Kate followed him, "You don't have to do this you know?" She said as he sat down and began taping his fists, a serious look in his eyes as he returned the stare he was subject to by his opponent.

"Yes, I do. He insulted you." He replied shortly, standing up and taking off his shirt.

"That's what I'm saying, you don't have to get in a fight over..." Kate's voice trailed off as she looked at his physique, it was unreal. He had a body most models would kill for, with his shirt off he looked like he'd been chiselled out of marble, nothing like the hired muscle that worked for her dad, they were just big. Humphrey's body on the other hand looked as if someone had just cut away everything that wasn't muscle.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I finished putting on the gloves and turned to Kate, dropping a hand lightly on her shoulder as she stared at me in what I presumed was concern.

"Hey, it'll be fine, just watch." I said, giving her a quick smile before walking past her and getting into the ring, getting serious as I did. I noted with some satisfaction that the arrogant smirk had faded a bit from the jerk's face, 'Must be surprised I even got into the ring.' I thought to myself, bringing my gloves up and stepping forwards slowly. Just as I got to around the centre of the ring he launched himself towards me, his fist headed straight for my face.


	4. Chapter 4: One-Two

**A/N: I know I said Monday and Friday but I was feeling it so here, an early release. Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 4: One - Two**

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate watched on from the edge of the ring as Max suddenly launched himself forwards, throwing punches high and low, left and right. 'He's fast, guess this is the difference with a professional.' She thought to herself, though even more surprising than the fact that Max wasn't all talk was that so far he'd hit nothing but air. Humphrey was dodging every single blow sent his way, weaving left and right and occasionally dancing backwards and then to the side. Kate looked around after a moment and realized that everyone in the gym was watching, several of the others looked surprised that Max couldn't seem to hit Humphrey. For almost a minute the gym was filled with silence, the only noises were the gloves cutting the air, the squeak of the fighters' shoes on the ring floor and the slight rattle of the ring. The two maintained this scene, Humphrey barely dodging the flurry of punches as Max chased him around the ring and Kate couldn't help but feel that this would go on forever.

This illusion was shattered however in a sequence of events that couldn't have taken more than two seconds at most, although to the assembled onlookers it seemed like an eternity and a split-second at the same time. Kate caught her breath as Humphrey dodged a wild but powerful swing that Max had thrown in frustration. As he slid to the right around his fist she could've sworn she saw his eyes narrow as he saw his chance, changing his stance to a more aggressive one as his guard dropped a little and he slid his foot forwards. Kate stared intently, unable to blink as Humphrey launched his right towards Max's exposed temple. There was a flurry of movement and a sharp sound that reverberated around the gym, so loud in the silence that it almost hurt her ear drums.

By the time Kate's eye's caught up she saw Humphrey withdrawing his left fist as Max's face went skywards and he slowly toppled backwards, falling to a sitting position. 'What? I thought he threw a right? What happened?' Kate thought to herself, eyes moving back and forth between Humphrey and Max as she tried to make sense of what had happened. As Max hit the floor the remaining boxers burst into conversation, many realizing that was the first punch Humphrey had thrown.

"Did you see that?" "What was that move?" "Max went down from one hit?" "What crazy power." Kate caught a few of the phrases before her attention was dragged back to the ring by a loud growl of anger.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I let out a sigh as I stepped back, watching as Max toppled backwards, eventually hitting the floor. 'He'll get back up.' I thought to myself, he was stunned but by no means unconscious as I stood watching him, lowering my gloves but making no move to leave the ring. Despite a year or so without practice since I'd learned the move I'd manage to execute the rather unique one-two that Varg had taught me, the memory of those days making me smile slightly. There was a buzzing in my ears from the burst of chatter as our onlookers discussed what had happened but I couldn't make out what exactly was being said. Whether from the adrenaline or just the fact that they were speaking over each other I didn't know as I glanced over at Kate who was looking between Max and I, a perplexed look on her face.

A loud growl of anger interrupted my thoughts as I returned my attention to its source, namely the now furious boxer on the ground in front of me. 'As expected, he is a professional after all. He wouldn't back down from one hit.' I thought to myself, raising my gloves into a guard in preparation for the continuation I had known would come. Max quickly picked himself back up, his face flushed with anger as he stared at me and charged forwards fist already headed my way.

"That's enough!" The yell must've been loud because even Max heard it clearly enough to understand, stopping himself short as we both turned to see who had stopped us. I noticed two men were standing near the door to the gym's office, the shorter of whom appeared to have been the one to shout. He appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, slightly shorter than average height but with a stocky build. His hair was all grey and beginning to recede and I realized from his attire that he must've been the owner of the gym. The other man who stood with him was taller and a bit thinner but appearing in good shape. He wore a black, expensive looking two-piece suit and would've appeared to be in his early forties if not for the that that his black hair, though by no means receding, was beginning to grey. 'Why is there something familiar about him...?' I thought to myself, unable to pin down what it was exactly. My confusion was short-lived however as Kate exclaimed, "Dad!" and quickly crossed over to him, giving him a hug. I made an inaudible sound of understanding as I saw the resemblance.

"Tsch." I heard Max click his tongue in frustration beside me as turned back to see him giving me a look that seemed as though he was debating whether or not to continue. After a moment he just sighed, turning away and raising his arms in an exaggerated shrug as he walked over and exited the ring.

"I don't have any more time to play with amateurs," He said, walking away into the locker rooms. I stood and watched him as he left the room, only moving once the door closed behind him. Pulling off my gloves I exited the ring passing through the dispersing crowd towards where the elderly gentleman was standing. I saw Kate talking quietly to her father off to one side as I approached the owner, who was looking at me with an unreadable expression.

"So, are you going to explain what that was all about?" He said, clearly angry though he controlled his tone. "Impromptu fights are not permitted in my gym."

"I'm sorry Mr. Um..." I replied, lowering my head in a half bow and holding out the borrowed boxing gloves. I kept my head down, lowering my hands to my sides as I felt him take the gloves from me. I heard him grunt as he took them but unable to see his face I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"It's O'Malley. Now never mind apologies, stand up and tell me what happened." He ordered sharply.

I straightened up slowly, "Well sir, Kate and I were waiting for her father and yourself to finish your business." I began, gesturing towards Kate slightly as I spoke. "Your boxer, Max, approached us and ordered us to wait outside, claiming that we were interrupting." I paused for a moment, gauging his reaction as he frowned and looked towards the locker room for a moment. 'I think he's probably already guessed what happened next.' I thought to myself.

"Despite his... er... aggressive attitude we tried to avoid a confrontation but he said some things that I could not ignore, leading to our spar. My apologies." I finished, lowering my head again for a moment. When I straightened up I say that Kate and her father had approached and were standing next to us.


	5. Chapter 5: Dodged a bullet

**Chapter 5: Dodged a bullet.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I saw Kate look between Mr. O'Malley and myself as he waved his hand at my apology with a grunt.

"Don't worry about it, no one was badly hurt. Except perhaps Max's ego." He said gruffly, "Speaking of whom he clearly needs a lesson in professionalism." He finished, turning to head towards the locker rooms. After two paces he stopped however and turned back to me, his eyes flicking up and down, giving me a once over.

"Let me ask you something though." He said suddenly.

"Of course Mr. O'Malley, what is it." I relied as I looked up from undoing my wrist wraps, curious as to what he wanted to know.

"You've clearly already had some training, are you a professional boxer?" He asked, his expression and tone serious. I chuckled a little at the suggestion as I finished removing the wraps, placing them on the bench and picking up my shirt.

"No, not at all. A friend just taught me the basics a few years ago. Having fought for my life before, doing so for money doesn't really agree with me." I admitted as I slid my shirt back on and began to button it up. O'Malley merely grunted in response and continued over to the locker room. 'A little rude but I guess he's just like that.' I thought to myself, turning to Kate and her father who was looking me.

"Hello Humphrey, my name is Winston. I'm Kate's father." He said to which I smiled, holding out my hand to shake. For some reason he looked a little surprised at the offered handshake but accepted it nonetheless.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

 **Winston's POV:**

Winston looked down at the hand he was offered with some surprise, he couldn't remember the last time someone had acted thus upon first meeting him. After a moment he accepted the handshake, noting the firm but not excessive grip of the young man before him. As they shook hands Winston studied the boy, who appeared to be around Kate's age but was as tall at least as Winston himself, at least six foot. He couldn't help but smile a little at the boy's refreshing attitude but his expression became serious as he released his hand, getting down to business.

"So, Humphrey, Kate has told me what happened, both earlier outside the convenience store and just now." Humphrey's only reply was to tilt his head to the side, his quizzical expression asking the unspoken question for him; 'What do you mean?'.

Winston chuckled a little, placing a hand on Humphrey's shoulder and gripping it a bit. "What I'm saying, Humphrey, is thank you. You saved my daughter from those scumbags earlier. I'm sure what they had planned doesn't bare repeating here." As he spoke Winston noticed Kate to his side was very pointedly ignoring the conversation and looking away at the others in the gym. He didn't blame her, to be honest he was surprised that she had handled it all so well. He'd done his best to shelter Kate and her sister from the life he led so he thought she'd have been distraught from it all.

"And now you stood up for her just before, against an opponent who had every advantage over you." Winston continued, returning his attention to Humphrey. "So thank you Humphrey, I am in your debt." He finished, sincere in his gratitude.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I was a bit surprised at how serious Kate's father was as he thanked me, I hadn't really done all that much. Kate had taken care of the fools in the alley earlier by herself, all I did was distract them a little. 'You'd think that I'd taken a bullet or pulled her from a burning car or something, the way he's thanking me.' I thought to myself. I smiled and laughed lightly as he finished speaking, scratching the back of my head as I replied.

"Please think nothing of it. I just did what anyone would've done." I said. I thought he would've let it go at that but he surprised me, tightening his grip on my shoulder some.

"Not in this town." He said, looking as serious as ever as he released his grip, turning towards Kate and placing a hand affectionately on the top of her head.

"Anyhow it's time for us to go. I meant what I said though Humphrey." He continued, giving me a meaningful glance. "I'll be out in the car Kat, don't be long." He added quietly, turning and heading towards the door. Kate and I watched him go for a moment before turning back to each other, standing awkwardly in silence for a moment. 'What do I say? It feels like I've known her a lot longer than two hours.' I thought to myself, stumped for how to fill the silence.

"Well..." Kate suddenly spoke, pausing for a moment as I returned from my desperate internal search for appropriate words. "Thanks for everything you did today." She said finally, meeting my gaze for a moment before looking away. I thought I saw a little colour in her cheeks but decided it could've easily been my imagination. 'She's normally pretty confident, must not be used to situations like this.' I thought to myself, 'Not that I can blame her, given what happened.'

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate could feel some heat in her cheeks and knew she must've been blushing as she looked away. She honestly had no idea what to say to a boy who'd saved her, stood up for her and fought someone for her, despite having met only a hour or so beforehand. Not to mention she'd likely never see him again.

"Well Kate, you're welcome. I don't think I did all that much but..." He said after a moment. Kate turned back to see him grinning at her and couldn't help but smile herself a little.

"All the same, thanks. Well, it was nice to meet you Humphrey." Kate grinned herself as she spoke, once again noting that his attitude seemed to be infectious as she turned and headed for the door. She had only made it two steps before she heard him chuckle and turned back to see him lowering his head and flourishing his arms in a completely over-the-top yet impressive bow.

"Milady please, the pleasure was all mine." He said, looking up after a second. She couldn't help but let out a giggle at the exaggerated display before turning and heading for the door, turning and waving quickly as she opened and walked through the door.

"Not all of it." She muttered quietly to herself as she ran over and got into the back of the car with her father.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I looked up from my bow to see Kate giggle a bit which made me grin as I straightened up, my grin widening as she waved from the doorway before disappearing. After a moment the grin faded as I thought about what to do now, it was getting dark and I hadn't organised a place to stay yet. I shivered a little and rubbed my arms, suddenly realising how cold it was. All of a sudden a thought hit me; my jacket! Kate still had it. 'Crap, that's my favourite.' I thought to myself as I ran over to the doorway, yanking it open and stepping outside to the deserted street. I looked around for a moment but it was pointless, Kate and her father were long gone. I let out a sigh and shrugged, turning around to head back inside and get the address so I could call a cab. 'Not like I could've just taken it back. She had nothing else to wear.' I thought to myself as I headed back in.

 _A hotel somewhere in the centre of Jasper, later that evening._

I let out a huge sigh as I flopped down on the enormous bed in my hotel room, exhausted from my first day back in Jasper. To say it'd been eventful would be the understatement of the week; an emotional roller coaster would've been closer to the truth. To recap I'd discovered that my last remaining family relation had passed away, was surprised to learn I actually had some inheritance, seen a girl my age KO three gangsters and sparred with a professional boxer. I let out another sigh and looked around the room I'd landed for the night. It was pretty nice, huge double bed, big TV, nice bathroom, balcony and a decent view of Jasper City and the river that meandered through the middle of it. 'What was that river called again?' I thought to myself for a moment before shrugging it off and starting to get ready for bed. This was the only available room in town on short notice and was more expensive than I'd normally go for. 'Lucky I had some money left over.' Was my final thought before I fell into a deep sleep.

 **A/N: Hey guys, we've reached the end of the first day and it was a big one. What do you think so far?**


	6. Chapter 6: When it rains, it pours

**Chapter 6: When it rains, it pours.**

 _The DMV, the following morning._

 **Humphrey's POV:**

My head was spinning as I sat in DMV, waiting for my number to be called. My wait was uneventful as the buzz of movement and chatter of those around me formed a background, punctuated occasionally by the PA announcing a number and available counter. From the looks of it I still had some time to wait until my number was announced but this suited me fine as I had a lot on my mind. Earlier that morning I'd met with my late brother's attorney, who'd filled me in on the details of my inheritance. Admittedly I'd been so shocked that I had him repeat himself three times, thinking I'd misheard.

 _Flashback, attorney's office, earlier that morning._

"Welcome Humphrey, please have a seat." He'd said to me as I entered, closing the door gently behind me before moving forwards and sitting down at one of the chairs in front of his desk. I sat quietly and waited for him to speak as he finished filing some papers. After another few moments he stood up, walking around and sitting next to me, placing a hand on my knee and looking at me with eyes full of concern.

"Firstly Humphrey, let me just say that you have my deep condolences for your loss." He began. I could hear the sympathy in his voice which only made it worse as I hung my head, holding back tears. I was sad that my brother was gone, not because I knew him well but because now I would never have the chance to.

After I said nothing for a bit he continued speaking, "Thankfully I didn't need to provide your brother legal advice much but he seemed like a good man." He paused again, perhaps giving me a chance to speak but I didn't trust my voice so I just nodded silently. He continued to wait for a moment before speaking once more which I was relieved with since being here just reminded me of things I'd rather not think about.

"I don't want to rush but you know why we're here today; the matter of your inheritance. As the last surviving member you'll naturally be receiving the inheritance and life insurance payouts of..." He trailed off as he realised I wasn't listening and admittedly, if someone had asked me then what he'd just said I would've been hard pressed to answer.

"Well I won't bore you with the details but as your brother instructed almost everything was sold and the money placed in a trust fund for you when you turn 18. There's also a car which has been stored at the DMV for you to collect."

He didn't speak for a while and I looked up to find him looking at me with a slightly aggrieved expression. "Sorry, I am listening. Car at the DMV." I said quickly, giving him a guilty look. 'He's just doing his job after all.' I thought to myself, making sure I sat up a little and listened properly.

He sighed after another moment before continuing. "It's alright, I know this isn't easy for you. As you say there's a car at the DMV for you to collect and a trust fund for you to gain access to at 21. You'll be given a monthly allowance in the meantime but the final figure for the account is..." He paused, pulling out a sheet of paper to check the figure. "Three million, four hundred and twenty nine thousand dollars and thirteen cents." He read from the page.

I looked up at him, thinking I must've misheard. "Excuse me?"

 _End flashback._

I look up as my number is called, the tinny voice over the PA dragging me from my thoughts as I stand up, heading towards the appointed counter where a rather large and very bored looking woman sat waiting. 'Is there a requirement to fit the stereotype to work in places like this?' I thought to myself, having been through a number of public service buildings like this and noticing they all seem to be manned by the same types of people.

"Hi there, I'm here to pick up a vehicle as well as apply for a special exception license." I say with a smile, knowing that matching attitudes with her would only make this work. She looks up at me sceptically, taking in my age as I hand her the letter the attorney gave me. She skimmed through letter quickly before nodding a little, turning to her computer and starting to type.

"Well that's fine, I assume you need the license before the car?" She asked without looking up from her computer. I honestly wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic but decided to let it go, smiling once more and nodding, "That's right."

She nodded slowly, still typing away, though what I wasn't altogether sure. 'Probably on minesweeper.' I thought to myself as she spoke up again. "Alright then, do you understand the rules and such for the SX license?" She asked to which I nodded once more. "Okay well I have to read this anyway..."

 _DMV, Underground car park, 90 minutes later._

I sighed as I stepped out of the elevator into the underground car park, looking down at the license in my hand and tutting a little at the photo, 'Not my best.' I thought to myself. I approached the office window, gently ringing the bell to get someone's attention when I couldn't see anyone there.

"Can I help you?" A voice suddenly spoke from behind me, causing me to jump in surprise. "Haha sorry, it can get a little boring around here." A man in his early thirties said as I turned around, accepting the offered handshake. "So seriously how can I help?" He repeated after a moment with a grin before looking down and reading the form I handed him.

"Just here to collect a car." I said, pausing for a moment before adding with a grin, "And state the obvious."

He chuckled at that and turned to enter the office, nodding slowly. "16B huh? She's a beauty alright. I was wondering if anyone was ever gonna come for it." He said over his shoulder as he searched a wall of keys, eventually plucking a set down and exiting the office.

"Well the paperwork's all done, I'll take you over and you can go. Except... you have a license right?" He added, giving me a meaningful look to indicate my age.

"All covered." I said, chuckling as I showed him my license. We walked in silence through the rows of cars before I realised that something he said had bothered me.

"So why didn't you think anyone would come for the car?" I asked, tilting my head to the side and giving him a curious look as we walked.

"Huh, oh nothing really." He said, pausing before continuing after he saw my raising eyebrow at his rather lacking answer.

"It's just that inheritance cars normally don't stick around long. A month or two at most. People either want them or want them sold as soon as possible. Not to mention this one had special conditions as well." He stopped talking again. I swear his habit of not explaining things properly was starting to annoy me as I spoke, "Special conditions?" He looked at me in surprise, as though he'd never spoken to anyone at work this much before.

"Yeah well when it came in there were a few conditions about storage as well as a work permit for a specific mechanic from somewhere a little out of town to come and service it every six months. He must've been here not two weeks ago so the car should be in perfect condition."

He stopped walking and gesturing towards one of the cars. I turned in the direction he was pointing and saw the characters 'B 16' on the ground. Lifting my gaze I couldn't help it as I took in the car that was parked there as he slid the cover off. My jaw dropped a little and my eyes widened slightly in surprise. "What!?"

 **A/N: Bonus chapter! Wasn't going to release until tomorrow but it's done so why not? There'll be one tomorrow as well. You can thank The Lone Omega for this one more or less, he motivated me to get it done early. Huge shout out for him, he's an awesome guy and his stories are great, please check them out if you haven't already.**


	7. Chapter 7: Irregular at Jasper High

**Chapter 7: Irregular at Jasper High.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

It was around 1:15 in the afternoon by the time I arrived at Jasper High School, rolling my car smoothly into an empty visitor's park near the entrance. My car. I still could scarcely believe it. 'It's a little strange that it wasn't sold like the rest of the belongings but I'm glad someone else understands.' I thought to myself as I got out and looked back at it, smiling to myself, albeit a little sadly. It was a dark green 1970 Ford Mustang with Mach 1 factory upgrades, all original. I knew it was worth a small fortune and I was glad it was already insured until I turned 18 because there's no way I could afford it otherwise. I double checked that it was locked and gave it one last lingering look before heading up the steps into the school.

After walking around for a while in the empty halls I managed to find the office and knocked before heading in. I was fairly nervous since I hadn't been in a school for a few years at least and formally had never attended a school since 6th grade. I slowly entered the office and approached the receptionist, a pretty woman probably in her late 20's, who looked up at me with a stern look that shocked me.

"Err, hi. My name's Humphrey. I called earlier this morning?" As I spoke she suddenly smiled warmly, standing up and offering me her hand. I took it after a moment, slightly thrown off by the sudden mood change. She saw my confusion and laughed lightly.

"Sorry about that, I thought you were one of the students. Which would've meant you were in trouble." She added to clarify.

I smiled and nodded my understanding, "Well not yet but I'd like to be..."As I spoke he looked up at me with a playful smile, raising her eyebrow. "A student, that is." I clarified as she chuckled.

"I'm sure." She said sarcastically as she pressed the intercom button on her desk, "Sir, Humphrey Miller is here to see you."

 _"Send him in."_ I heard him respond and headed over to the door labeled 'Principal's Office' as the receptionist nodded at me before returning to her work. I knocked gently before entering the office, looking up as I closed the door behind me to see a fairly buff middle aged man with tan skin, islander tattoos and dreadlocks pulled into a ponytail.

"Ah Humphrey, welcome. I understand you wish to enroll here?" He said, gesturing to one of the seats which I took.

"Yes sir, that's right." I replied, "I heard that this is quite a highly regarded school." I added, since they'd told me that entrance was not guaranteed I figured a compliment couldn't hurt. The principal looked up at that, the look he gave showing he knew exactly what I was doing.

"Is that so? Of course being the only high school in West Jasper can't hurt I'm sure?" He said in a joking tone. "All the better." I replied and he chuckled along with me.

"Alright then," he said, getting serious once more. "I see you haven't gone through the normal schooling process, which is fine, but I assume you've done some form of home schooling? That being said you didn't list a home address either." He continued, frowning a little as he looked up for my answer.

"I've tried to learn what I could, I just hope I'm not too far behind." I said with a little shrug, hoping to play off what was actually one of my biggest fears about enrolling in a school. I don't think it worked though as he seemed to see how nervous I was.

"Hmm well either way there's a test we have transfer students take so you can do that and we'll see where you are at, level wise." He explained. I nodded to show my understanding as he pressed the intercom button, "Sarah could you take Humphrey and get him set up for a..." He paused for a moment, looking up at me. "You turned fifteen this year right?" He asked, to which I nodded once more. "Junior high transfer test?" He finished, directed once more at the intercom.

 _"Right away sir."_ Came the reply. Upon hearing that he gestured to the door, "Sarah will set you up and answer any questions. Good luck." He said with a smile.

"Thank you sir." I replied, standing up and heading for the door.

 _Principal's Office, 85 minutes later._

 **Principal Marcus Shirley's POV:**

"What!?" Charlie practically yelled, at which both Sarah and Marcus made shushing gestures. Humphrey was just inside his office and they didn't want him to overhear since they were discussing his transfer test mark, which was surprising to say the least.

"Are you serious?" Charlie said, thankfully quieter this time as she looked between Marcus and Sarah, unable to believe what she was hearing. Both nodded silently in response. "So you're telling me he got close to acing a test containing questions on every subject, some of which are from high-level senior tests, in three-quarters of the time and he hasn't attended school since the _SIXTH GRADE!?_ " Charlie asked to clarify, whisper-screaming by the end.

"That's right. He must've done some crazy homeschooling." Marcus said, looking down at the mark on the page as though it might've changed from the 3 digit percentage. "And he was worried about being behind." He continued, chuckling a little at how nervous Humphrey had been before. 'And probably still is.' He thought to himself. "What are we going to do with him? He's practically ready for college." He said aloud, looking between Sarah and Charlie for answers.

"Well..." Marcus looked at Charlie to continue, surprised that she was the one to answer, she normally wasn't good with things like this as far as he knew. "He's had a strange life right? At least not normal education wise. Plus he's just lost his family..." Charlie continued, trailing of once more as though debating with herself whether or not her idea was a good one.

"Go on." Sarah prompted her after a moment, to which Charlie nodded before continuing.

"Well I think it might be best for Humphrey to be around people his own age, regardless of his level. He needs to live like other kids a bit, right?" Charlie finished. 'That's actually a good point.' Marcus thought to himself, nodding slowly in approval.

"He seems like an earnest kid too, he probably wouldn't think too much of the work." Marcus offered, considering how humble Humphrey had been. 'Or was it just a complete lack of self awareness? Either way.' He thought to himself as Charlie and Sarah both nodded in agreement.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I looked up nervously as the Principal entered his office once more. I studied his face trying to glean some insight into how I did but his expression was unreadable as he walked in and sat down as his desk.

"So, Humphrey, about your results." He began, pausing as he looked down at the paper he was holding. 'I hope I did okay, some of those questions were seriously difficult.' I thought to myself as I waited for the news. "You did excellently, well done." He announced suddenly with a warm smile and an offered handshake. I let out a heavy sigh of relief as I shook his hand and smiled.

"Thanks Mr. Shirley, some of those questions were really tough." I replied, having learned his name from the plaque on his desk.

"That's true... Anyway we are happy to accept you as a student, we'll get your timetable set up shortly. Furthermore, we have a possible solution to your current housing problem." He said, before adding in a louder voice, "Come on in Charlie."


	8. Chapter 8: The day after tomorrow

**Chapter 8: The day after tomorrow.**

 **Charlie's POV:**

As she heard Marcus call her Charlie slid off Sarah's desk where she'd been sitting and walked into the office, trying to stop her expectations running away from her as she was about to meet the student who achieved such outrageous results. As she entered the office two faces swung her way and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as she saw Humphrey looked normal enough. That being said he appeared quite tall and was very handsome, 'He'll definitely break some hearts in his time.' She thought to herself as she sat down next to him, accepting the hand he offered and shaking it.

"So Humphrey, this is Charlie Imnriss, a PE teacher as well as the basketball team coach. She recently joined our staff after finishing her university degree. Charlie, this is Humphrey." Marcus said, gesturing to each as he introduced the two.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Imnriss." Humphrey said to her. Charlie didn't want to say she was surprised at how well mannered he was, but she had to admit, she was. 'There're so few students his age who have good manners.' She thought to herself as she returned his sentiment. "It's a pleasure to meet you too Humphrey."

"Charlie here is a registered foster parent. I've already spoken to her about it and, if you're interested and willing, she's agreed to foster you until you finish your time here." Marcus explained, watching Humphrey for his reaction, which was clearly surprise judging by his expression.

"Really? You would do that?" He said, a little incredulously as he turned to Charlie for confirmation, which she gave with a nod.

"Also... if you don't mind me asking, as I understand it's rare for someone so young to be a foster parent?" He asked. Charlie nodded slowly at the implied question, 'Only fair I suppose. It IS rare for someone my age to foster.' She thought to herself as she replied. "I have an estranged son. It's a long story but I kind of miss having kids around."

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I nodded at Charlie's answer, it made sense to me, more or less.

"Well if you're willing to have me then I'd be delighted to stay with you. I admit I didn't really know what I was going to do." I said, chuckling a little as there were smiles all round that everything had worked out.

"Oh, one other thing." I said suddenly, remembering the potential problem sitting out in the car park. Charlie and Mr. Shirley looked a question at me as I continued, "I have a car. It's a family heirloom of sorts..." I explained slowly, nervous that they'd say I'd have to get rid of it or something. My fears were short-lived however at Charlie's response.

"Don't worry about it, there's a spot in the garage you can have." She said, smiling and waving her hand. "You'll have to clean it up a bit to make room though." She added, to which I smiled. "Already giving me chores huh?" I said jokingly. Charlie gave a slightly evil smile and was about to reply when Mr. Shirley cut in.

"Humphrey, how do you have a license?" He asked. Figuring it would be easier to just show them I pulled out my wallet, extracting the card and handing it to him.

"It's a Special Exception license. I was allowed to apply for it since I was on my own and had the car as inheritance. Had to pass a driving test obviously." I explained, placing the card back in my wallet as Mr. Shirley handed it back. "I see-" He was suddenly cut of as Charlie let out a panicked cry, looking at her watch.

"Is it that time already!? I have run, I'm late for practice." She said looking at me apologetically before turning to Mr. Shirley. "Marcus will you give him my address?" She asked before running out of the office as soon as he nodded.

"I had no idea it had gotten so late." I said, looking up to see the clock on the wall which showed that it was already 3:15pm. As I looked back down Mr. Shirley handed me a booklet and a piece of paper with an empty table on it. After a moment I realised it was a timetable and the booklet was a guide to all the subjects they offered here.

"Well the last thing to do is organise your timetable and then you're all set." Mr. Shirley said. We spent another half hour sorting my timetable as we discussed the pros and cons of the various options. I was forced to take English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science, which was a broad subject and included a range of fields such as Chemistry, Physics and Biology. Mr. Shirley insisted that I enter class 1A for all of these which is the top stream for juniors and I saw no reason to refuse. Since I only had two remaining choices I decided to take Automotive Engineering as my father had taught me plenty about cars and I'd learned as much as I could on my own throughout the years after his death. The final option had to be a physical based subject so I looked through the options for a bit before something caught my eye.

"Can I take basketball as my final subject?" I asked, pointing to the option in the booklet. Mr. Shirley hesitated for a moment, giving me a look as though he was sizing me up. After a moment he seemed to make a decision and nodded, jotting it down.

"You'll have to try out. If you get in then that's that. If not then we'll find something else." He said as he wrote down a note next to my selection which I saw read 'Pending Approval'.

"Well you're all sorted. It'll take some time to get you into the system and I'll let the teachers know that you'll be joining us at the staff meeting tomorrow. So..." He caught my eye and gave a wry smile before continuing in a lighter tone. " _Unfortunately_ you'll have to wait until Wednesday to start here." He finished, his emphasis on the word unfortunately making me chuckle as we both stood up. I followed him to the door which he held open for me.

"Oh by the way, here's Charlie's address. She should be home by now." He said, giving me a piece of paper before shaking my hand once more. "Welcome to Jasper High Humphrey." His tone was warm as he said it and I smiled.

"Thank you Mr. Shirley." I replied before leaving the office. I walked once more through the empty halls, retracing my steps to find the entrance. As I stepped out I noticed that the sun was already sinking below the horizon, throwing splashes of pink, orange and gold over the sky. I couldn't stop the smile that worked its way onto my face as I approached my car, getting in and shivering a little at the exhaust note as I turned it on. 'Music to my ears.' I thought to myself as I pulled up Charlie's address on my GPS and backed out of the park.


	9. Chapter 9: Beauty sleep

**A/N: Hey guys. Bit of world building at the moment but hey, it's necessary. I have some free time this week so expect a few additional chapters. Thanks for the continued support.**

 **Chapter 9: Beauty sleep.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I was silent as I drove through the suburbs of Jasper, my thoughts wandering a bit as I recalled the day I'd had. The radio was playing but I wasn't really listening, only tuning in when the GPS interrupted the music to give me directions. Charlie's house was a little out of town but it was thankfully only a 15 minute drive. As I drove I looked out at the usual smattering of houses, normal one or two story houses mostly with the occasional expensive looking estate filled with mansions. As I got further out the houses got slightly bigger in general but most notable was the size of the land they were on as I noticed a farm or two.

After another minute of driving I arrived, inspecting what was to be my home for the next few years as I rolled the car slowly up the driveway and stopped in front of the open garage. It was a decently sized two story house, similar to what one might've seen in an estate closer to town. The block of land wasn't huge, surrounded on three sides by paddocks that I presumed belonged to the neighbours since Charlie had made no mention of owning animals. 'Doubt she'd have time anyway being a full-time teacher and basketball coach.' I thought to myself as I gazed at a group of three horses that were looking my way from one of the paddocks.

I turned my attention away from the house and surrounds and looked into the garage, which I realised that Charlie must've left open for me as I saw her car in one port, leaving the other free aside from the boxes and stuff left all over the floor. 'She wasn't kidding about needing to clean up huh?' I thought to myself with a sigh. Leaving my car running I got out, quickly going into the garage and beginning to clean up, boxing all the loose miscellaneous junk and moving the boxes to the side so I could get my car in. 5 minutes later I'd made just enough room and returned to my car, driving it in and shutting it off.

I got out and pressed the button to close the garage door, figuring I'd clean up properly tomorrow since I had the day off. I walked through the inner door, noting that it took me directly into a conjoined kitchen, dining and living room that must've accounted for the majority of the ground floor. Charlie was sitting at the dining table, doing some kind of work but she looked up and smiled as I entered the room.

"Hey Humphrey, I thought I heard you. Find the place okay?" She asked, sitting back with a little sigh as I joined her at the table.

"Hey Ms. Imnriss. Yeah no problems getting here, I was just making room in the garage." I replied, stretching my arms as I noticed how tired I was. 'Another long day.' I thought to myself.

"Please, Humphrey, call me Charlie. At least when we're here." She said, pausing slightly before adding in a serious tone, "It's a different story at school though."

I chuckled and nodded, "Alright, duly noted. And... thanks Charlie." I replied, trying out saying it aloud. I thought it might've been awkward to call someone who was going to be my teacher by their first name but it felt right. 'All the others insisted I address them formally when we were learning as well. Guess it's just a universal thing?' I thought to myself as Charlie spoke once more.

"Well your room will be upstairs on the left." She said, gesturing vaguely to the flight of stairs to one side of the room. "I've gotten it set up enough for you, at least for tonight. Since you've got a day off tomorrow I'll leave you some money and you can go shopping to get yourself settled in properly alright?" She concluded to which I nodded. As I stood up, intending to go and check out my room as well as the rest of the house Charlie spoke up about one last thing that I hadn't even realised was bugging me.

"Dinner will be in 5. Just pizza tonight since I usually can't be bothered cooking after practice. I got vegetarian since I didn't know what you liked, that okay?" She said, looking a little more concerned about how I'd reply than I thought was necessary. 'Guess she hasn't had someone to look after in a while.' I figured as I smiled and nodded.

"That sounds fine Charlie." I replied aloud before turning and heading upstairs. Entering the room that she'd said was mine I was surprised at how nice it was. To the left was a large wardrobe with mirrored sliding doors and next to that was a closed door which upon inspection I saw led to an ensuite bathroom with a shower, basin and toilet. Exiting the bathroom I continued my inspection of the room, opening the shutters on the large window covering most of the wall opposite the entrance and overlooked the paddock that I'd seen the horses in earlier. The only other notable feature was the double bed and bookshelf to one side. 'I could get used to coming home to this every night.' I thought to myself as I smiled, thinking back to some of the places I'd been forced to sleep.

 _Flashback, Southern France, several years prior._

I hauled myself through the small window, falling onto the hay below with a soft _'flump'_. I let out a huge sigh as I lay there, shivering so hard that my teeth were chattering almost loud enough to drown out the heavy rain that pelted against the roof of the barn I'd broken into. I felt a little bad but the storm had come out of nowhere and I'd had no other choice, not to mention my relief to finally be out of the wind and rain far outweighed my guilt. The barn had been locked but I'd managed to climb a gutter and enter through a second story window, not an easy task in strong winds and pelting rain but I finally got there and my arms and legs were in agony as a result. I lay there for another moment before thinking I should probably change out of my drenched clothes but it was too late, I was exhausted and sleep claimed me, pulling me almost instantly into a deep slumber until late the following morning, where I awoke to find a rather angry farmer staring down at me with his arms crossed.

 _End Flashback._

"Dinner!" I heard Charlie yell from downstairs, dragging me from my memories as I shook my head to clear it and left my room, heading back downstairs.

 _The following morning._

I woke the following morning to find the sun streaming in through the blinds that I had forgotten to close the night before, painting the inside of my eyelids a smattering of yellow and red. I groaned and covered my eyes with my arm as I rolled over, lying still for a moment before getting up. I dressed and headed downstairs to find that Charlie had already left for work, leaving me a house key on the dining table. I shuffled into the kitchen, getting myself a glass of juice which I almost spat out as I looked at the clock on the wall, reading a little after 10:30am. 'I'm going to need to set an alarm tomorrow if I don't want to be late on my first day...' I thought to myself.


	10. Chapter 10: Al dente

**Chapter 10: Al dente.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I quickly showered and freshened up a bit for the day before heading back downstairs, grabbing an apple from the kitchen and eating it as I checked that the house was locked up. After ensuring that the doors and windows were indeed secured I headed for the garage, grabbing the key Charlie had left me from the counter and pocketing it as I left. I spent the next several hours driving around town, stopping at various shops to buy things that I needed, the majority of which was clothing since what I had left was sparse to say the least.

Several hundred dollars and a few hours later I was headed home, my car filled with shopping bags. As I pulled out of the multi storey car park I let out a small sigh grateful at least that I hadn't needed to buy any furniture on top of all this since I had spent all the money Charlie had given me as well as what little had remained of my savings. 'At least I won't be completely broke.' I thought to myself as I remembered that I had my inheritance allowance due to come in any day now. That being said it wasn't a huge amount and I mused with myself as to whether or not I should try to get a part-time job.

I spent the remaining drive home considering my options but couldn't reach a conclusive answer so I shrugged, figuring I could ask Charlie when she returned home. Once I had unpacked all the clothes and put them away I nodded to myself in satisfaction as I looked around my room, feeling as though I had finally settled in. As I went downstairs I saw that I still had several hours to kill before Charlie got home and decided to finish cleaning the garage.

Once that was done I washed and spent an hour or so doing maintenance on my car but it turned out to be redundant, as the guy at the DMV had said it was in immaculate condition. With nothing better to do I went for a run along a small track around the three paddocks that bordered Charlie's house, which wasn't a particularly exhaustive distance for me but the uneven ground coupled with the fences that needed to be jumped and the fact that 75% of it was uphill meant that I was quite tired by the time I got back.

After a quick shower to remove the sweat from my body I saw that it had just ticked over 6pm and went into the kitchen, setting about preparing dinner.

 **Charlie's POV:**

Charlie let out a relieved sigh as she pulled into her driveway, pressing the button on her remote to open the garage. It had been a tiring day and to top it off the staff meeting they'd held had lasted almost two hours which meant she would be working late tonight to be ready for tomorrow's classes. As she pulled into the garage she noticed that Humphrey had not only properly tidied his side but hers as well, leaving the dual-port garage cleaner than it had probably ever been. She smiled at the effort he had put in and made a mental note to remember to give him the spare remote for his car as she got out and headed inside.

"Hey Humphrey, I'm back." She called as she walked through the doorway into the main room. As she did so she noticed a delicious smell coming from the kitchen and turned that way to see Humphrey in there busy cooking. 'I had no idea he knew how to cook.' She mused to herself as he turned around and smiled.

"Hey Charlie. Dinner will be ready in ten 'kay?" He replied before returning to the salad that he was preparing. Beyond that Charlie had no idea what he was preparing so she simply nodded, slightly nonplussed as she headed upstairs to wash up a little before dinner. A few minutes later she returned downstairs just in time to see him placing the food on the table. As she moved to the table and sat down she saw that he'd cooked lasagne with a side of salad and some sort of dressing. A fairly common dish but it smelled divine and the way he'd plated it made it look gourmet.

"I know it's a little plain but I figured I'd make you something as thanks for... everything really." He said with a little chuckle as he sat down.

"Honestly it looks amazing Humphrey. But you really didn't have to." Charlie replied, to which he just shrugged in a way that said, 'I wanted to.' Charlie couldn't resist the enticing smell any longer and dug in, unsurprised that it tasted just as good as it looked. After devouring nearly half what was on her plate she looked up to see Humphrey looking at her with an amused smile on his face.

"I take it you were hungry?" He asked, to which she nodded and blushed a little, realizing she'd been a little uncouth and took a deep breath, slowing down a bit.

"Sorry, I was starving and it's so good." She said, taking a drink of water before continuing. He laughed at her comment, "Well thank you, it's been a while since I've prepared this one but I'm glad you like it." He said, looking off a bit as though he was remembering something, making Charlie wonder just how much of a past this boy had. They spent the rest of the meal more or less in silence and once she finished Charlie sat back and let out a contented sigh.

"So where did you learn to cook if you don't mind me asking? Most boys your age wouldn't have a clue." She spoke up after a moment, hoping to learn a little more about him.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I finished eating and sat back as well, considering Charlie's question for a moment.

"Well my mother taught me originally." I said slowly, pausing for a moment when my voice threatened to shake as I remembered those times. "After that I spent some time with families in France and Italy. I learned a few things from all of them but two happened to run restaurants. I worked there to help repay them for letting me stay and they taught me some more." I continued to explain after a moment. I looked up to see Charlie shaking her head a little with a disbelieving expression but I didn't know why.

"Well thanks again for dinner Humphrey, it really was delicious." She said after a moment, as she stood up, beginning to clean up. I'd already cleaned up most of what I'd used so there wasn't much but I jumped up, stopping her.

"You're welcome Charlie but let me do that. This is my way of thanking _you_ after all." I said, taking the plates from her and heading for the kitchen. I heard her sigh and could imagine she was shrugging and shaking her head.

"Then I won't argue." She said from behind me as I heard her walk over to the stairs, heading up.

"I'll be upstairs if you need anything." She called back over her shoulder as she ascended. I quickly cleaned up the remaining dishes and followed her upstairs, flopping onto my bed. After a moment I pushed myself up from the plush comfort and prepared for bed, remembering at the last minute to put my phone on charge and set an alarm for the morning. 'Can't be late on my first day.' I thought to myself as I closed my eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11: Swing and a miss

**A/N: I am honestly kinda blown away here guys. Thank you so much for all the support. It really does mean a lot. FYI this will be the last bonus chapter for a little while, I have some life stuff coming up and I'll be busy but the normal Monday + Friday uploads will continue as usual. Seriously though thank you all so much. Enough from me! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 11: Swing and a miss.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I woke up early, forcing my eyes open after a moment and looking around a bit. It was still dark and I wondered why I had woken but my question was answered quickly as I woke up a little more and noticed the music from my alarm which had roused me. It was a simple classical guitar riff but I liked to use it as it wasn't as harsh as some alarms, not that I'd used one much in the past. I listened to the plucking of the strings for a moment longer before I silenced it, pulling of my covers and sitting up on the edge of the bed, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I shivered slightly as my skin was exposed to the morning air, which was very fresh despite the fact that it was only late summer still. 'I guess the mountains keep it cold of a night here just like they used to.' I thought to myself as I headed for the bathroom, showering and getting ready for the day. I dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, a little inadequate for the chilly weather but if memory served then it would quickly warm up once the sun got over the mountains.

Grabbing my bag and various effects I left my room and headed downstairs, not particularly surprised to see Charlie already up and at the table, drinking a coffee and reading the paper.

"Morning Charlie." I said as I entered, placing my bag by the door to the garage for later and heading for the kitchen to get some food.

"Morning Humphrey. There's a pot of coffee if you want some." Charlie said without looking up from the paper.

"I'd tell you where the sugar and whatnot is but it seems like you know your way around a kitchen better than I do." She adding in a joking tone, though it could well have been true. I thanked her and made myself a cup, joining her at the table. A sigh left my lips as I took a sip of coffee, the warm beverage perfect for the cold morning. I looked over at the headlines on the paper Charlie was reading but didn't recognise any of what they referred to, unsurprising considering I had never taken much interest in the news. Before I'd left home I'd been too young to really bother with it and whilst travelling I hadn't always been able to access it so I'd never picked up any interest for it. We sat in comfortable silence for a while before Charlie stood up, putting her mug in the sink and heading for the door.

"Alright I'm off Humphrey. I trust you'll be fine to get to school?" She asked as she gathered her things and paused in the doorway, looking back at me. I nodded and smiled, giving something between a wave and a salute since I was in the middle of taking a sip of coffee and couldn't speak.

"See you later then. Don't be late." She called as she got into her car and left. I stayed at the table for a while longer as I finished my coffee before following her lead, checking the house was locked up before grabbing my bag and getting into my car, the noise from the exhaust as I turned it on making me smile as I backed out of the garage.

I kept it light on the throttle as I drove to school, knowing how easy it was to damage an engine by thrashing it before it got to temp. The sun was up by now and would've been blinding but luckily I was driving away from it so as long as I avoided looking into the rear-view mirror it was fine. The peak hour traffic meant that it took me a little over twenty minutes to reach the school, pulling into the car park with around 10 minutes to spare. 'I'll have to remember that it takes a little longer in the mornings.' I thought to myself as I pulled into a parking spot, turning off the car and grabbing my bag before getting out. After making sure it was locked I gave it a lingering glance, smiling a little before turning and heading for the main entrance. I made it all of three paces before I looked up and noticed that every student present was staring at me. It wasn't just a few either, between the students arriving and the ones hanging around out the front with their friends there must've been more than a hundred teenagers with their eyes trained on me. 'Did I do something wrong?' I thought to myself as I hesitantly continued walking for the entrance, making it to the base of the stairs uncontested before I was stopped by a group of girls who stepped in front of me.

"Hi there, I'm Abby." The one closest said, smiling and holding out her hand.

 **Abby's POV:**

Abby looked at the boy in front of her as he hesitated a moment before accepting the handshake she offered. 'Definitely new.' She thought to herself, there was no way she wouldn't recognise him if he'd been at the school before. He was tall, more than a little good looking and appeared to be in good shape, though she couldn't be too certain as he was wearing a large shirt that basketball fans seemed to favour. All in all his attire was neutral which made her think that he might've been intentionally trying not to draw attention to himself. 'Swing and a miss there I'm afraid.' She thought to herself with an internal giggle as he released her hand and introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you Abby. Name's Humphrey." He said, returning her smile before broadening his attention to include the entire group. She stepped aside a little and continued to inspect him subtly as Samantha, Angel and Brittany stepped forwards, introducing themselves in turn. Once the pleasantries were out of the way she spoke up once more, drawing his attention back to her as the others let her speak for the group as was usually the case.

"So, Humphrey, you're clearly new here. Been in Jasper long?" She asked.

"No actually, I grew up a ways outside of town but I left what... 7 years ago now or so?" He replied, pausing as he said it to quickly tally the time he'd been away on his fingers. "I only got back on Sunday." He concluded.

"So what year are you in?" Brittany cut in with a question of her own before Abby could continue. The conversation continued thus with Humphrey explaining that he was in a junior in high school, same as them, and that he was in class 1A for the four main subjects. Abby was sure that they would've gone on talking for a while but the sound of the bell interrupted them and they turned to head into the school. Just as Abby was about to leave she felt someone grab her arm gently and turned back to see Humphrey holding her back and grinning a little nervously.

"Sorry but could you tell me where my homeroom is? I'm in 1A." He said, laughing a little and running a hand through his hair as he released her arm.

Abby felt a slight pressure in her chest release as he asked his question, which wasn't what she'd suddenly thought he might ask from his nervous attitude. She shook her head gently to clear it and smiled, gesturing towards the door.

"Sure thing, it's actually on the way to mine." She said as she headed up the steps. She noticed Humphrey fall into step next to her and looked up at him. When he noticed her looking at him he smiled, causing her to blush a little and look away quickly. 'What was I thinking, we just met.' She thought to herself as they arrived at Humphrey's homeroom, where he thanked her and headed inside. Abby stood watching him go in for a moment before turning and hurrying off to her own class, not wanting to be late.


	12. Chapter 12: Stranger things

**Chapter 12: Stranger things.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I thanked Abby and entered my homeroom, admittedly a little nervous as I walked into the room, pausing just inside the doorway to look around. A few people were still coming in but most of the seats were already filled bar one or two towards the front and a couple in the back row. As I walked through the desks, heading for the teacher's desk at the front of the room I could feel eyes following me and hear a few whispers. 'It's fine. You're new here. People are curious.' I thought to myself, keeping my eyes forwards as I walked to avoid showing my nerves. As I reached the teacher's desk she looked up at me.

"Yes?" She asked. She was a middle aged woman with dark red hair that was pulled back in a tight bun. She had a stern looking face as she peered at me with sharp eyes from behind a pair of horned glasses, 'Definitely not a teacher to mess around with.' I thought to myself as I answered.

"Hello Miss, my name's Humphrey. I'm new here." I said and was relieved to see a look of understanding come onto her face as she nodded.

"Ah Humphrey, welcome. Wait there for a minute, class will start in a second, we'll get you introduced and then we can find you a seat." She said, to which I nodded though I wasn't too happy about standing in front of the class, I could already feel people's stares from behind me. 'I feel like I'm on display or something...' I thought as I heard the second bell ring, indicating that class had officially started.

I noticed that as soon as the bell rang all the students fell silent and quickly took their seats, sitting mostly silent except for a few passed whispers, undoubtedly about me. From the way they settled so quickly I could tell I was right about this teacher not being one to mess around with as she stood up and cleared her throat.

"Good morning everyone. Before we begin today's announcements we have a new student joining us as you can see." She said, looking at me before gesturing towards the class, which I took to mean I should introduce myself as I stepped forwards a little.

"Hi. My name's Humphrey Miller, it's nice to meet you all." I said giving a little smile. Thankfully I was able to control my voice and tone despite my nerves as the class erupted into quiet chatter. What surprised me was that the teacher didn't seem to mind as she nodded.

"I want all of you to make Humphrey here feel welcome." She said to the class before turning back to me and adding, "There's a free seat down the back next to the window." I looked over and saw that there were two empty seats down the very back, the only two in the class actually. I nodded and headed over there, trying to ignore the looks from my classmates as I moved between them, sitting down in my assigned seat by the window which overlooked a large grass oval and a gymnasium.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate half-ran through the empty halls towards her homeroom class. She had a note to excuse her tardiness but all the same she didn't want to be any later than necessary knowing what Mrs. Stiller was like. She rounded the final corner and slowed to a walk, pausing for a second to catch her breath before opening the door and walking in. As she entered the room every pair of eyes swung her way, including Mrs. Stiller, who had been reading the daily announcements and paused, looking at Kate with her usual stern expression. 'Does she ever smile?' Kate thought to herself as she walked towards the front of the room.

"Miss Spencer, you're late." Kate almost flinched a little as Mrs. Stiller stated the obvious in a sharp tone. Kate didn't know why but she seemed more annoyed than usual at the interruption as she reached the front of the room and handed her the note she was carrying.

"I'm sorry I'm late Miss." Kate said as Mrs. Stiller took the note from her hand, quickly skimming it over before nodding.

"Hmphf, very well. You're lucky I've yet to take attendance. Go to your seat." She said shortly, placing the note on her desk before turning her attention back to the announcements as Kate headed for her seat. It was strange that attendance hadn't been taken yet since that was normally the very first thing of the day, before announcements. It was due to this being on her mind that Kate made it three quarters of the way to her seat before she realised that someone was sitting in the usually vacant seat next to hers. She looked up to see a young man sitting there, wearing fairly plain clothes as he looked up at her with a grin his face. Kate noticed that he had a vertical scar on his jaw, making her doubly sure that there was something familiar about him. A split second later it hit her and she froze, a surprised look on her face.

"Humphrey!?" She exclaimed. His grin widened as he nodded.

"Hey Kate." He said calmly as though he was commenting on the weather.

"Ah yes we have a new student Kate." Mrs. Stiller said from the front of the class. She was silent for a moment before looking up as she realised what had actually happened.

"You two know each other then?" She asked after looking between them a few times. Kate could only nod silently, still a little stunned as she walked the remaining distance and took her seat while Humphrey explained.

"Yes Kate and I met briefly a few days ago just after I got back into town."

Kate felt her ears go a little red as the class predictably burst into discussion at this "shocking news"; Humphrey was pretty hot and she knew that by lunchtime it would be rumours at ten paces. 'Is that necessarily a bad thing?' The question surprised her as it popped into her head, making her wonder as Mrs. Stiller brought the class back under control so that she could return to the announcements.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

Once the announcements were completed and attendance was taken we had a few minutes of homeroom left in which we were allowed to talk amongst ourselves. I was a bit surprised to see Kate but in hindsight there was more than enough evidence for me to have guessed that she would attend Jasper High. 'Sitting next to someone I know in homeroom is just a bonus.' I thought to myself as I turned to Kate.

"Fancy seeing you here stranger." I joked with a grin as I looked at her. She was wearing a black shirt, blue denim jeans and short boots. The clothes really complimented her figure and I couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. She laughed a little at my joke which pulled me out of my thoughts and back to reality.

"Well stranger things have happened." She said with a smile and I was pleased that she was being friendly with me, I had worried she might have forgotten me or something as we spent the remaining few minutes chatting about what classes I had and other things about the school.


	13. Chapter 13: Beginner's luck

**A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter is a day late, my internet was out yesterday so I couldn't upload anything. Anyway here it is now so enjoy...**

 **Chapter 13: Beginner's luck.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

The rest of my first day passed fairly quickly and I had to admit it went well. As it turned out Kate was in all four of my main subjects which I was happy about since it meant I would get to see her for the majority of my school week. After English I had automotive engineering, which I was looking forwards to despite the fact that Kate wasn't in that class. There had always been something about cars that relaxed me, although since my father had died it was bittersweet since he was originally the one who taught me about them. At lunchtime I met my homeroom teacher to have her assign me a locker which didn't take long before heading to the cafeteria with Chris, Rob and Barry, my group members for Automotive Engineering or AE as they called it. They were a little odd but seemed like good guys and were very accepting, leading us to becoming friends despite it only having been a little over two hours. As it turned out the table they usually sat at was shared with Abby and the others from earlier.

They all greeted me as I approached and I baulked for a moment as I struggled to remember all their names but after a second it came to me. There was Abby and Brittany, both of whom were brunettes but Abby was skinny whereas Brittany had a curvy figure and was in excellent shape being one of the school's cheerleaders. The other half were the twins, Angel and Samantha, or Sam. They were identical except for the fact that Angel was a natural blonde and Sam dyed her hair bright purple, which I was amazed the school allowed. I was surprised but pleased when Kate came over and joined them, as it happens they were all close friends.

I found out as we were leaving the cafeteria from Rob that though they sat at the same table, there was never any conversation between the two groups. I nodded upon hearing this as it explained why things had been a little awkward at first despite them regularly sitting at the same table. Things had slowly relaxed into a pleasant atmosphere however and we'd all joked and had fun. I was also surprised to learn that, amongst the boys in our years, Kate's group was the most popular and most were scared to approach them. This had led to some incredulous looks from Chris, Barry and Rob at the table when it'd come out that I knew them all despite it being my first day to which I'd shrugged and joked about beginner's luck, getting a few laughs.

Basketball training took place immediately after school so once Social Studies had let out I'd run to my car, grabbing the bag containing my sportswear before running for the gym. I'd had to leave it there this morning since I didn't get a locker until lunch and in all that had happened I'd forgotten to transfer it. Thankfully I made good time as I ran into the change room and swapped into some more suitable clothes. I noticed that some of the others were sizing me up as they walked past but realised that they knew why I was here when one had slapped my shoulder and wished me good luck. In the end I was only about thirty seconds behind them as I jogged out into the gym, tossing my bag near the others and joining the other nine in the semi-circle around Charlie.

"Ah Humphrey, there you are." She said, nodding to me before turning to the others. "So as you might've guessed Humphrey here is going to be trying out to join us."

She explained which led to a few comments from them. "Looks alright." "Probably a shooter." "What position is he?" I ignored what they were saying as I smiled, lowering my head a little in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm looking forwards to working together."

 **Charlie's POV:**

Charlie waited for Humphrey to finish introducing himself before clapping her hands to get their attention once more.

"Pass the tryout first, there'll be time for chatter later." She said to him before turning back to the team to give them their instructions.

"Alright Hutch, you'll be with me. I need you to help with the tryout. The rest of you will do our usual warm up followed by shooting drills. The last half will be a practice game, as usual." She said, rattling out the instructions before clapping once more and waving them away. She knew that they'd probably slack off a little without her there but it couldn't be helped, besides which they were all fairly serious about basketball so hopefully they'd be motivated enough.

"As for you two, we'll be using court three since court two is taken." She said, gesturing towards the other courts. She saw Humphrey look that way as well and couldn't help but smile to herself as he gave a surprised reaction to the cheerleaders on court two. 'Must not have noticed them.' Charlie thought to herself as she turned her attention to Hutch.

"Can you take some cones and a few balls over there? Set the cones for a dribble drill." She said, to which he nodded and headed off to do as requested.

"So Humphrey, what position do you play?" She asked, slightly amused as she realised he'd been looking over at the cheerleaders the whole time. He didn't answer her immediately, gently scratching the scar on his jaw as he thought.

"Well... I'm not really sure. I like to shoot threes. For defence I've just done one to one." He said slowly. This time it was her turn to fall into thought. 'Maybe shooting guard? Or small forward?' She thought to herself before something about what he'd said hit her and she had to ask.

"Humphrey, you've played on a team before right?" She waited for his answer a little nervously as she eyed him.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I gave a slight shrug before answering Charlie's question, "Yes and no. I mean I've always played five against five but it was never really a team per say." I thought this would answer the question but she looked even more concerned than before as she followed up with another question.

"Humphrey, tell me what your past experience with basketball is." She said now in a firm tone that surprised me. Things had suddenly turned from friendly to accusing and I had no idea why.

"When I travelled through the States I would play basketball whenever I could. There were plenty of games on all the time and I'd join in." I explained, before continuing with a laugh as I remembered my first few games.

"I was hopeless as first but the father of one of the families I stayed with was a coach of some kind and he taught me how to play." I concluded. As I finished Charlie let out a large sigh and dropped her head for a moment.

"I understand now. No wonder you don't know your position. Well let's go and we'll see what you've got." She said after a moment, gesturing to the other court where Hutch had just finished arranging the cones. I nodded and followed her over to the court, pausing for a moment when we got there as I looked at the ring down the other end.

"Char-... I mean, Ms. Imnriss? Is it alright if I warm up a bit first?" I asked, gesturing to the other ring. "I err... haven't played in a little while after all." I added, laughing a little.

Charlie's expression was completely blank as she thought for a minute before nodding, grabbing a ball from the bin nearby and tossing it to me. I caught it and walked to half court, placing it down to the side and beginning to run suicides to warm up. It didn't take long as I'd already run from the car park to the gym so after three cycles I figured I was ready. 'Wonder what they're talking about.' I thought to myself as I picked up the ball, looking over to where Charlie was saying something to Hutch, who was nodding his understanding. Shrugging it off I began to dribble the ball a little, smiling in satisfaction as I realised that I wasn't too out of practice. I moved on to some lay ups, mixing in some crossovers and such as I quickly regained my rhythm from before. After ten or so I figured that was good enough and stepped away a little, taking a deep breath before launching a shot from mid range. My first few shots were abysmal but after a few I found the correct form, the shot just missing, bouncing on the ring twice before falling out. I clicked my tongue in annoyance but I was pleased that it was coming back to me as I collected the ball, shooting a mixture of mid-range twos and threes from around the court, the results far better than before.


	14. Chapter 14: Team play

**Chapter 14: Team play.**

 **Charlie's POV:**

Charlie looked up to see Humphrey coming towards them, dabbing at his forehead a bit with his shirt. She'd missed most of his warm up as she'd been explaining how the tryout would work to Hutch along with what would need to happen if he did join as he'd never played officially before. 'I didn't see much but what I did see didn't look all that promising.' Charlie couldn't help but think to herself as she resigned herself to the worst. She didn't let this show however, speaking as Humphrey got over to her.

"Are you ready?" She asked, to which he nodded and she gestured over to where Hutch was waiting at the beginning of the dribble test course.

"Watch what Hutch does and then try to copy him." She explained before blowing her whistle, signalling to Hutch that he could begin. Humphrey watched him intently before moving to the start himself and beginning. As they moved through the various drills Charlie felt her spirits rising a bit as Humphrey completed them one after the other, all with a reasonable degree of competency. Lay ups, dribbling, passing and defence all went by without a hitch. 'He's hardly perfect but there's definitely something to work with.' Charlie thought to herself as he completed the second to last drill. She had to admit that she'd perhaps judged him too soon as whoever his coach had been clearly knew what they were doing.

"Alright then, last drill." She said as Hutch and Humphrey both came over. Both were visibly sweating now, which was no surprise given that what they'd been doing was likely more strenuous than the team's usual training.

"Thanks Hutch, you can go join the others." She told him. He nodded and straightened up, taking a deep breath to control his breathing before giving Humphrey a light punch on the shoulder and wishing him good luck. As he left them Charlie considered what Humphrey had shown her so far, giving him a chance to catch his breath. 'His style is completely orthodox, surprising for someone who's only experience with basketball is on the streets. That being said he's got the basics locked down.' She thought to herself, realising she'd have to thank whoever his coach had been if she ever met him. She'd practically already decided that Humphrey had what it took to join the team but there was one last thing she wanted to see.

"You said you liked shooting threes right Humphrey?" She asked him. After another deep breath he straightened up slowly, nodding in response as he turned to look at the ring.

"It's what I was best at, at least back when I was playing regularly." He said. Charlie smiled to herself as she walked over to the ball bin, taking one out and tossing it to him. 'Time to see if that warm up paid off.' She thought to herself, now genuinely curious to see how he'd do since she'd seen his first attempted shot and it was terrible.

"Show me." She said, gesturing to the ring.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I caught the ball and gathered myself, giving myself a chance to breathe and control my rhythm before taking the shot. As the ball left my hand I smiled to myself, it had felt good which meant that it would either go in or be close to it. I landed and a split-second later the ball rattled in. I didn't have time to rest or celebrate however as Charlie had already thrown another ball my way, which I quickly caught, making sure I had it properly under control before putting up another shot. I didn't even have time to watch it go in as I ran for another ball which Charlie had lobbed to a different area of the court. We continued thus but I was in a good rhythm as I continued to make baskets, three, four, five. Once the sixth shot missed Charlie decided to stop. I was already halfway through my seventh shot however which I also managed to get in after it bounced high off the rim.

"I think that's a good enough sample." Charlie said as she began collecting the balls. I didn't respond other than to nod as I was breathing heavily but after a moment I moved to help pack up the cones. Everything done we headed back over to the main court, where Charlie told everyone to take a short break which I was grateful for as I grabbed a bottle from my bag, downing half of it in one go and letting out a satisfied sigh. As I stood there the rest of the team came over and introduced themselves as well as asking how the tryout went. I shrugged in response and was about to say something when Hutch came over and beat me to it.

"From what I saw he nailed it." He said to the others before turning to me and offering his hand.

"Name's Hutch Shirley. I'm captain of the team." He said as I shook his hand. He had a firm grip and it was clear why, he had three inches on me and was probably around 230 pounds, all muscle. Something about his tan skin and name was familiar and I frowned at him, trying to figure out what it was.

He smiled when he noticed my expression, "If you're wondering why that sounds familiar it's probably because the school principal is my father." He said, and I nodded realising that was indeed it. Once he said it I began to see more resemblance between the two.

After a moment he leaned in and said quietly, "If coach doesn't accept you then she must be crazy." It was only loud enough for me to hear but I appreciated the vote of confidence, nodding my thanks as he moved away to talk to one of the others.

"Alright listen up for a minute." Charlie said a minute or so later, grabbing everyone's attention. "I'll announce the teams for our practice match in a moment but first..." She paused and looked straight at me, an evil smile on her face as she held me in suspense. I gulped nervously as she held my gaze for a moment longer before continuing.

"I am pleased to announce the newest member of our team." She broke into a smile as the others cheered, patting my back and welcoming me. I dropped my head down for a moment and smiled with relief. Charlie let it go for a minute before regaining everyone's attention, reading out a list of five names that would be on one team meaning the rest would be on the other. I took one final drink before placing my bottle down, beginning to rise before a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I looked up to see Charlie standing there.

"Not you. For today I want you to just observe how the others play, on both offence and defence." She said, holding up a hand to stop me as I opened my mouth to protest.

"It's important to realise that basketball on the streets is not the same as the team based play we strive for here. Just watch and learn today and next time you can join in." As she finished talking I nodded, sitting back down.


	15. Chapter 15: Spell it out

**Chapter 15: Spell it out.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I walked through the deserted hallway towards the entrance of the school, thinking about what Charlie had said about the differences between real basketball and what I'd experienced before. I had to admit, it had surprised me how noticeable the difference was as I watched the practice game. When I'd played previously there'd been a little passing but mostly it was just about beating your one defender to score. Though I had seen a little of that it had mostly been two on two or more. Screens, help defence, finding space; These were all things I would have to master if I wanted to become a real member of the team.

With my mind full of these thoughts I reached the main entrance, stepping out into the bright sunlight and heading down the steps. It was only 4:30 or so but thanks to the mountains that surrounded Jasper City it would start to get dark soon. That said I was in no real rush to get home since I hadn't received any homework that day, which I was assured by others was a rarity, and Charlie wouldn't be home for a while either. I headed towards the car park and looked up to see someone standing in front of me, talking on the phone in what appeared to be a rather agitated way. As I got closer I realised that it was actually Kate. I'd noticed her with the other cheerleaders at practice but was surprised to see that she was still here since they'd finished the same time as us and I'd stay behind to organise my uniform and a few other things with Charlie. As I thought this I continued walking towards her as she hung up the phone and let out a sigh.

"Hey Kate, everything okay?" I asked as I reached her. She swung around quickly in surprise but seemed to relax when she saw who it was, letting out another sigh. "Oh, hey Humphrey. I heard you passed your tryout, congrats." She said, brightening up a little as she smiled at me which I gladly returned.

"Well the coach seems to think I have some small potential. She must be crazier than I am." I said, half jokingly as I grinned at her. "How was your practice? I didn't really have time to watch but you guys seemed pretty good." Kate shrugged and looked away.

"It was okay. It's my first year on the squad so it's hard to learn the routines." She said nonchalantly. She tried to make out like it was no big deal but I could see that she was smiling a little and was happy to have cheered her up some.

"So seriously, what's wrong?" I asked, deciding to cut to the chase.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate clicked her tongue at the question, looking up at Humphrey's concerned face for a moment before looking away. "It's nothing really, just annoying." She paused for a moment but continued when she turned back and saw that Humphrey had raised an eyebrow and was making a 'go on' gesture with his hand. "My mum was supposed to come and pick me up but she can't make it, meaning I have to wait almost an hour for the next bus." She explained, shoulders drooping in resignation of the long wait as she saw Humphrey grinning.

"Well that's not so bad. I mean you'll have to wait, and it'll be cold, and the bus trip will probably take hours." He said, grin widening. Kate couldn't help but smile a little at his over exaggeration.

"It'll be fine though, until the driver passes out, and the bus crashes off a cliff. That'll be okay too, since you'll probably survive, no doubt badly injured though. And you won't be able to complete your homework-" He stopped talking as she punched his shoulder with a laugh.

"Well thanks for spelling that out. You can go now." Kate said, doing her best to say it in an angry tone. She couldn't manage to wipe the grin off her face so she turned around and folded her arms in an attempt to hide it, hearing Humphrey chuckle from behind her.

"I know you're trying to seem angry but the way you're smiling like that gives it away a little." He said in an amused tone. Kate held her posture for another moment before dropping it, letting her shoulders drop as she turned back around.

"So are you waiting for the bus or are you just here to laugh at me?" She asked him, pouting a little as she jabbed a finger accusingly at him. He stepped back a little, holding up his hands in a surrendering gesture, grinning as he shook his head.

"I wouldn't dream of laughing at someone in a pinch." He said with a chuckle which she joined in on. They stood in silence for a moment before he spoke up once more.

"So you could wait and catch the bus, whereupon all that I said previously would no doubt occur. Or..." She gave him a curious look as he paused, wondering what he was about to suggest. A second later he pulled out a set of keys and held them up. "... I could give you a lift." He finished. Kate looked between Humphrey and the keys a few times before she realised what he was insinuating, staring at him in surprise.

"Humphrey... you have a car!?"

"No this is for my bike lock." He replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he made a deadpan expression. Kate laughed a bit as Humphrey turned and began walking towards the car park, pausing and looking back over his shoulder after a few steps.

"You coming?" He asked, to which she nodded and ran over, falling into step next to him.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I shook my head with a small smile and continued into the car park as Kate fell into step next to me. We walked in silence for a while, making it all the way to the outer school entrance before she spoke up, "So how do you have a license?"

"Well don't you have yours?" I replied with perhaps a little more sass than I intended but fortunately she didn't seem to notice it as she shrugged and nodded a little.

"I have my learners permit I guess. But that's not the same as a full license." Her tone suggesting she was aware that I was deliberately not answering. I quickly extracted my wallet from my pocket, removing my license and showing it to her, again figuring it would be easier to explain if I just showed her.

"It's a Special Exception License. I had to pass a test of course and there are a few extra rules." I began to explain as I took it back from her and put it away. "My brother's attorney set it up for me because I was on my own and had a car to inherit." I finish, feeling my chest tighten slightly as I spoke about my brother, the memories and realisation that he was gone coming back to the surface. I was by no means ashamed of my emotions regarding my family but it was going to be a little problematic if I welled up every time someone mentioned a family member for the rest of my life. Kate let out a small 'ah' of understanding as I finished explaining. I wasn't sure if she'd noticed the minor tremor in my voice but if she did she said nothing, merely turning away to look at the now few cars remaining in the car park. We were just a few meters from my car now and I could see Kate looking at it with an expression that almost appeared to be longing.


	16. Chapter 16: One after another

**Chapter 16: One after another.**

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate gave the beautiful car one last lingering glance before turning away and walking on, only making it a few meters before she heard Humphrey speak up from behind her. "Er Kate? Where are you going?" He said as she turned back to see him standing by the car she had been admiring only moments before, putting his bags in the now open trunk. She felt her jaw drop in surprise as she stood frozen for a moment before walking back over to him, standing on her tip toes to even their heights a little more as she put on a serious expression.

"You're. Telling. Me. That _this_ ," She spoke haltingly for extra emphasis as she paused and gestured to the car before them. Humphrey leaned back an inch or so, looking a little nervous about how close she was. Or maybe it was due to her intensity all of a sudden. "Is _your_ car?" She finished in the same manner, staring at him as though daring him to say that it was. He laughed a little as he took her sports bag from her and put it in the trunk, nodding at her question.

"Well sure. I mean I drove it here this morning." He replied, his tone and manner becoming serious to match hers for a moment. Kate held her pose for a moment before dropping back down, stepping away a little and shaking her head as she placed her backpack in the trunk with the others.

"How?" She asked him in a disbelieving tone as he closed the trunk and walked around to the driver's door and she mirrored him on the passenger's side. 'The hits just keep on coming with this guy...' Kate thought to herself as Humphrey grinned as they got in and buckled up. The interior of the car was just as immaculate as the outside and Kate couldn't help but smile as she looked around, admiring it. It was clean enough to be in a showroom despite its age and Kate felt as though she should've washed herself before getting in; she suspected it must've been worth a small fortune. Her dad had always had nice cars, but they were always the latest models, whereas this was a totally different experience.

"I hit an old lady in the back of the head with a plank outside the mall and nicked it." Humphrey said, still grinning as she turned the key and the Mustang roared to life. Kate's smile widened as he did so, hearing the car that sounded as good as it looked if that was even possible.

"Seriously though it's something of a family heirloom." Humphrey explained as he put it in gear and slowly pulled out and drove off. "My grandfather worked in the Ford factory back in 1970 and he built it new back then with my dad, by hand as much as possible. When he passed away my dad took ownership, the idea of selling it was unthinkable." As he spoke of the car's past Kate interrupted every so often with navigational directions but otherwise listened in silence, nodding occasionally.

"I used to love working on it with him every weekend before..." Humphrey's voice trailed off she looked across to see he had a pained expression. She could see that he clearly had a sad and complicated past but she didn't want to press him for details. 'Really we've only just met, I can't ask about stuff like that. Maybe when I know him better.' She thought to herself as they pulled into the housing estate where she lived.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I had to stop talking since I didn't trust myself not to burst into tears which wouldn't do while I was driving, not to mention I couldn't burden Kate like that; we'd only just met after all. I normally wouldn't have reacted so much but I'd been caught up in memories and had stumbled upon _the incident_ a little suddenly, leaving me unprepared. There's no way Kate could've missed the sudden stop but she didn't say anything which I was grateful for. Most people were totally tactless about it and would've pressed for details, usually unintentionally but still, I appreciated that she didn't.

We drove in silence for a bit as I turned into the estate where Kate said she lived, noticing the sign that read 'Jasper Heights' as we entered. I'd heard from Charlie that this was undoubtedly the centre of wealth west of Jasper City, perhaps even the whole city, and it clearly showed. Every house we passed was two stories high or more, with large plots of land and meticulously kept gardens. Each driveway was filled with expensive looking cars, a mixture of luxury SUV's and sedans as well as the occasional super car.

"So where abouts is your place?" I spoke up as we slowly made our way down the main street. Kate seemed a little relieved that I was speaking again as the tension faded and she smiled, gesturing a bit as she instructed me.

"Turn left at the end of this road and then it's at the end of the second right." She explained and I realised that would place her house at the very back of the estate. The houses were only getting grander as we got deeper and I was starting to get really curious as to what kind of house she lived in. I followed her instructions and soon we reached a large wrought iron gate, barring us entry from a property that was surrounded by a high beige wall. I stopped the car in front of the gate and Kate stuck her head out the window, smiling and waving at the camera next to the gate. A few seconds later the gate opened and I drove slowly along the long gravel driveway as Kate pulled her head back into the car.

"This is your _house_?" I asked incredulously. It was my turn to stare in disbelief as I took it all in. The driveway was made of well kept gravel, lined by evenly spaced trees on either side. Most of the area within the walled off property was grassed but dotted with gardens bordered by low hedges, each filled with all varieties of flowers and trees in seemingly every colour imaginable. Every part of the grounds was beautiful and meticulously well-kept and as we reached the end of the long driveway I could see that they continued on beyond the house. A small loop ended the driveway in front of the house with a ten meter high water feature in the middle of it. If the grounds were beautiful then the house itself was breathtaking and calling it a mansion felt like an understatement. It was two stories high and very wide, styled in a manner somewhere between Buckingham Palace and the White House. The house itself was raised slightly, a few steps leading up to the grand front entrance. There was a triple garage off to the left, another gravel road branching off from the loop and leading off to it.

After taking it all in I turned to Kate, my jaw dropped in disbelief as she smiled and nodded. She was blushing a little in embarrassment but giggled at my reaction. She looked around at her property herself as I realised my mouth was still open and snapped it shut, blushing a little myself.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate giggled a little at Humphrey's reaction to her house before looking out of the car, inspecting the property herself for a moment. She had always tried not to take it for granted like her parents had told her but it was difficult sometimes since she had lived here all her life. 'I suppose it _is_ pretty impressive.' she thought to herself, making a mental note to compliment Silas and the other staffers on their continued excellent work. Humphrey was the first person outside of her main group of friends to see her house and she'd forgotten to warn him, leaving him unprepared for it, although it had been pretty funny to see his reaction to it. Speaking of Silas, who was the head butler, Kate looked up to see him open the front door and head down the steps as Humphrey pulled up in front of the house and she turned to him.

"Thanks for the lift home Humphrey, you seriously saved me. Again." She added on with a grin that he returned.

"Any time Kate." He replied, leaving the car running as they got out and walked around to the boot which he opened for her to retrieve her things as Silas approached them, bowing to them when he arrived before lifting both of Kate's bags from the trunk.

"Welcome home Miss Kate. I trust you had an enjoyable day at school?" He said with a smile before turning to Humphrey, giving him a once over. "And who's this?" He asked after a second in a tone somewhere between disappointment and disapproval which Kate didn't really appreciate.

"Hey Silas. This is Humphrey, a friend of mine from school. He offered to give me a lift after mother couldn't make it." She said in a tone that was ever so slightly frosty. Silas raised an eyebrow at Kate's attitude but said nothing as Humphrey smiled. He was either oblivious to the atmosphere he was in the middle of or was deliberately ignoring it as he smiled warmly and spoke.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He said, moving to offer his hand to shake but noticing midway through that Silas' hands were full. He quickly recovered however, changing the motion to place the hand over his heart and making a little bow. Kate had never seen anyone from outside the family handle Silas so well and stifled her laughter as he didn't even have time to raise his eyebrow before Humphrey had recovered, leaving him stunned before he settled on an expression of begrudging approval and grunted softly.

"I only started at Jasper High today and Kate has been very kind to me so it seemed only fair to return the favour." Humphrey continued. Kate saw his smile twitching a little as he tried to ignore her suppressed laughter to the side which only made her laugh harder.

"I see." Kate managed to compose herself as Silas spoke, looking up to see him looking at her now. "Will your friend be staying at all Miss Kate? If so I will prepare some drinks." He asked her. Kate didn't know the answer herself and turned to Humphrey, sending the unspoken question his way and a little surprised to find herself hoping he would accept. She was to be disappointed however as Humphrey shook his head, holding his hands up.

"Oh no. Thank you but I wouldn't want to intrude. Plus I need to get home." He said, looking apologetically at both herself and Silas.

"Well it wouldn't really be trouble but that's fine." Silas said, hefting Kate's bags and turning to head inside, pausing and turning to Kate for a moment as he left. "You've just missed your parents' guests Miss Kate. They're in the parlour and expressed that they wished to see you when you returned." He explained, turning back to Humphrey and giving a small bow once more.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Humphrey." He said before heading inside leaving she and Humphrey alone.


	17. Chapter 17: Adult life

**Chapter 17: Adult life.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

Kate and I watched as Silas returned to the house, silence held at bay by the rhythmic hum of the mustang as we were left alone. As Silas disappeared into the house I looked at Kate who turned to me with a smile, looking cute as she held her arm with her hand and twisted her toe on the paver she was standing on as though trying to dig into it.

"Well Humphrey, thanks again for the lift. I'll see you at school tomorrow?" She said after a second. I smiled in response, flourishing my hands as I bent forwards in an extensive, over-the-top bow.

"At your service milady." I said, looking up after a second as Kate laughed and turned to go inside. I watched her head inside, returning the wave she gave me as she paused and turned back in the doorway before vanishing into the house, the double doors closing a moment later. I shut the trunk of the car and walked back around to the driver's door, smiling as I slid into the seat and realised how much I had truly missed this car over the years. I put it in gear and took the handbrake off, slowly letting of the brake and crawling away to avoid tearing up the gravel of the driveway. As I moved through the second half of the loop I noticed a black sedan parked in front of one of the garage doors and stopped for a moment to take a better look. There was something incredibly familiar about it but I couldn't place what it was as I took in the sleek lines, blacked out windows and large black rims. It had a Chrysler badge on the back and was very modern but I didn't know what model as I shrugged after a moment and continued driving.

My head was filled with thoughts about what had happened during the day as I drove home, flicking my headlights on about halfway there as the sun dipped below the mountain line and plunged the valley and most of Jasper City into darkness. The tranquil drive lasted just short of two minutes longer before I was abruptly ripped from my thoughts by a blaring siren, the interior of my car suddenly lit up with splashes of red and blue. In a panic I sat up straighter, looking into my rear-view mirror to see a police cruiser right on my tail.

"Maybe he's not-" I began to mutter to myself as a voice sounded over the loud-speaker.

" _You in the green mustang, pull over. I repeat. Pull over._ "

"Guess not." I said with a wry smile, hitting the brakes and flicking on my indicator as I headed into the emergency lane and came to a lazy stop. As I waited for the officer to approach I thought back but couldn't figure out why he'd pulled me over; I was almost certain I hadn't been speeding.

A knock on the window a moment later brought me to earth as I wound it down, looking up at the stern face of the officer with a nervous smile.

"Evening officer. I-is there a problem?" I began, trying to keep my tone upbeat.

 _5 minutes later._

As I finished explaining things Officer Hawford nodded, handing back my license and registration before looking at the car for a moment with a strange expression.

"You seem like a good kid Humphrey, and I understand the situation. I'll let you off with a warning this time but make sure you get those plates as soon as possible. Understood?" He said, giving me a serious look at the end.

I showed my understanding with a solemn but somewhat relieved nod. With that I figured we were done and moved to turn the car back on but paused as he spoke up once more to my surprise.

"You'd be a junior Jasper High right?" He asked me, the question more of a statement of fact than anything.

"Yeah I just started there today." I admitted with a small chuckle, wondering why he'd brought it up. It was the only high school in West JC so it seemed fairly obvious.

"Do you know a girl named Brittany?" He continued, the reason for his line of questioning made clear. I was a little stunned and could only nod in response, amazed that he had asked about someone I actually knew given that I could count on both hands how many people I knew at the school.

"Say hi to her for me. I'm her cousin." He said with a grin, tapping a hand on the door before disappearing from view. I watched him go in the mirrors, shaking my head a little at the bizarre coincidence as I turned the car back on, waiting for a gap in the traffic. Thankfully the remainder of the drive was uneventful and soon enough I arrived at Charlie's, or home as it had become, sliding the car into the garage.

Letting out a tired sigh I turned off the car and got out, grabbing my bags from the trunk and heading inside, greeting Charlie on my way past as I headed upstairs, quickly unpacking, organising and repacking my bags for the next day. That done I put my phone on charge and headed back downstairs, joining Charlie in the kitchen to help prepare dinner. As we prepared, ate and cleaned up from dinner we made small talk with Charlie questioning me about my first day as well as why I was so late home, not that she minded. I explained about where I'd been as well as what had happened in my classes during the day as Charlie occasionally interrupted with questions about specific things. Eventually the conversation turned to basketball, as expected really with her being the coach and me now on the team with Charlie explaining a few things and giving me a playbook to memorise.

"By the way, I was thinking about looking for some part-time work. What do you think?" I asked just before I was about to head upstairs to read through the playbook and Charlie was settling down to do some schoolwork. She frowned for a minute, falling into thought as she considered my question. I hadn't told Charlie exactly what had happened in the past but she knew about the allowance I was getting which was maybe half of what I could expect to earn from a job. Since I would be getting gym sessions at school for basketball as well as practice three times a week I had some spare time and figured I may as well work if I could.

"Well I think it's a good idea, even if you've got some inheritance waiting for you it'd definitely be a benefit to work some and get a taste for adult life." Charlie said after a moment, nodding slowly before looking up and frowning a little.

"That said, you've got to keep your grades up. If you get a job it'll cut down on your time for homework and study." I nodded as she spoke. It was a good point and something that I'd already considered but didn't have a definite answer for, although I didn't think it'd that I'd be too pressed for time.

"Here's what I think." Charlie spoke up again after thinking a bit more. "Get through this week. By this time on Sunday you should have a fairly good idea what your classes are like as well as how much homework you're likely to have. If you still think that you can handle part-time work after that then I say go for it." She finished and I nodded and agreed, thanking her for the advice. It certainly seemed like a sound plan as I headed upstairs, making sure I had an alarm set before settling down to begin reading through the playbook. It was an interesting read but I knew I'd never really memorise them until I did it myself on the court. A hour or two later I felt my eyes start drooping and decided to head to bed, heading into the bathroom to get ready to sleep which included a quick shower. 'One down.' I thought to myself as I got into bed and shut my eyes, thinking that for a first day in a new school it couldn't have gone any better.

 **A/N: Hey all. Enjoy the chapter? I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am for the support you guys are showing. I promise I'll do my best to live up to your expectations. FYI I've got extra shifts at the moment and I'm a little sick so maybe no bonus chapters for a while but I'll do my best.**


	18. Chapter 18: Preschool

**Chapter 18: Preschool.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I woke the next morning to pleasant sound of guitar strings as my alarm dragged me from my slumber and into the world for another day. For some reason I was feeling good this morning and got up with more vigour than usual, turning on the radio in my room before heading into the bathroom. I didn't bother to shut the door since the door to my room was closed anyway and I wanted to listen to the radio, occasionally singing along as I showered and prepared for school. As seemed to be becoming my habit I gathered my things, turned off the radio and headed downstairs, placing my bag by the door to the garage and making myself a coffee before joining Charlie at the table.

"Morning Charlie." I said as I sat, taking a sip of coffee and letting out a content sigh. I didn't need coffee to get going in the morning, having spent most of my life without much access to them but that didn't mean I wouldn't enjoy them whenever I could. I took another sip as Charlie looked up at me with a bemused expression.

"You seem to be in a good mood." She stated, to which I smiled a little and shrugged before taking another sip of coffee. "Don't give me that. You were singing in the shower and everything." She continued. I flinched and looked up, a little embarrassed since I didn't think she would've heard that as Charlie laughed and stood up, putting her mug in the kitchen before heading for the door.

"Don't be late for school." She called back over her shoulder as she got into her car and drove off, leaving me sitting alone. It was still early and I wondered whether or not I should do something before heading to school but eventually quashed the idea since it was only my second day and I didn't want to accidentally be late.

"Guess I'll go." I muttered to myself a few minutes later, draining the last of my coffee and standing up with a stretch. I placed my empty mug in the sink and checked that the house was locked up before heading into the garage. I turned my car on and was about to leave when I remembered something, running back inside and upstairs to grab the playbook from the desk in my room. 'Might have some time to read some more.' I thought to myself as I headed back down to the garage, getting in my car and heading out. The traffic was similar to yesterday as I drove towards the school, not paying much attention to the radio as I thought about the upcoming day and looking forwards to seeing my new friends. 'Especially Kate.' The thought surprised me a little as it jumped unbidden into my head but I thought about it a little more and shrugged, smiling a bit to myself since it wasn't untrue.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate looked out of the car's window as Silas drove herself and Lily in to school. Lily was rambling on excitedly about what she and her friends had planned for today but Kate wasn't really listening, just nodding and mumbling agreements whenever she felt it appropriate. Normally their mother would've joined them for this trip, believing that it was important for them to spend time together but she was meeting some friends for breakfast and couldn't make it. The traffic didn't seem too bad that morning and they made good time to school, arriving about 15 minutes before the bell.

As Silas drove through the car park towards the drop and go zone Kate noticed Humphrey getting out of his car and Kate caught herself staring, although whether it was at the car or Humphrey she wasn't too sure. She and Lily both thanked Silas as he drew the car to a stop, merely nodding in reply as they both grabbed their bags and got out. Lily was gone immediately to look for her friends but Kate waited a moment as she saw Humphrey headed in her direction, smiling and falling into step with him as they headed towards where her friends were waiting.

"Morning Humphrey." She said with a smile once he was close enough to hear easily. He smiled back and mirrored her sentiment as they walked. Once they got close Angel looked up and noticed them and nudged to others to alert them to their presence. They all looked up and greetings were exchanged once they got close enough. While Abby was asking Humphrey about how his first day was Kate saw Sam and Brittany exchange a look, letting out a sigh and shooting them a threatening look, warning them silently not to say anything as they had evil grins on their faces. Kate knew what they were like but she didn't think they'd try anything while Humphrey was there, he was new after all. 'Those two...' She thought to herself as they nodded and gave her knowing looks but thankfully remained silent. A minute later Humphrey excused himself, jogging over to where Chris, Rob and Barry had just arrived and were waiting for him.

"So Kate, you two seem close." Brittany and Sam said in unison as soon as Humphrey was out of earshot. Angel and Sam might've been identical twins but when it came to personalities Kate knew there was almost no one more in sync as these two. Kate scowled at them but it was a mistake as that just set them laughing, Angel and Abby joining in as well.

"What's that supposed to mean? We're friends." Kate said in an annoyed tone. They were always teasing her like this, whenever she even _looked_ at a boy it would set them off. It was partially her fault, since she always reacted even though she knew she shouldn't but she couldn't help it, they knew how to wind her up. It also didn't help that she'd never had a boyfriend, or even any male friends really, Humphrey was probably the closest she'd had to a male friend and she'd only known him for half a week. The reason for this lack of interaction was her father, whom was known by reputation to almost everyone in Jasper City and likely its neighbours and surrounds as well, leaving most people too scared of reprisal to approach her.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I half-jogged over to where Chris, Rob and Barry were waiting for me at the top of the stairs just outside the doors. As I reached them we greeted each other before heading into the school building, sliding through the crowds as we sought out our lockers. I was a little annoyed that they hadn't come over and talked to the girls, forcing me to choose between the two groups but I also couldn't really blame them. We talked and joked around for a while before I bid them farewell, trying to make my way through the thronging crowds towards homeroom. Unfortunately I was going against the flow but most people got out of my once they saw me which I didn't really understand but appreciated as I only just made it to the class in time, walking over and taking my seat next to Kate.


	19. Chapter 19: Bad chemistry

**Chapter 19: Bad chemistry.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

Homeroom passed quickly and without anything of particular note in the announcements other than the fact that the football team would be playing against the top team in the league on Friday evening. I was confused but Kate explained to me that everyone in the school liked and was encouraged to support the sports teams and most of our year would attend home games. It turned out that both the football team and basketball team had games once a fortnight on Friday evenings, just on alternating weeks. Since we still had practice on Friday I wouldn't be able to go which I was a little bummed about since Kate would be there as part of the cheerleader squad. Once the announcements and attendance were finished Kate and I spent the remaining few minutes chatting about sports and continuing on the way to Science which was our first class of the day. As we entered the classroom Kate let out a loud groan, a sentiment that was echoed by almost everyone in the class.

"What's wrong with everyone?" I asked with a slight smile, looking around in confusion and some amusement as everyone let out a load groan simultaneously. Kate didn't answer however as I followed her over to the desk we shared with Abby and Chris who were both already seated and both turned as Kate and I walked over and took our seats.

"That." Abby said, answering my question as she pointed up the front where the teacher was writing times on the whiteboard, above which I saw the words 'Chemistry test today.' written.

 _Two hours later._

There was a collective sigh as the bell sounded, signalling that both the test and class had ended. I thought I'd managed to do okay since I'd answered every question and even had a few minutes at the end to go over my answers. The teacher had approached me beforehand and apologised for the sudden test so soon after I'd started but asked that I just do my best which had me nervous but all things considered I think I did okay.

"Stop work everyone." The teacher said, clapping her hands together as the bell rang. "Leave the test papers on your desk when you go, and good work."

Everyone seemed fairly drained as we packed up our things and left the classroom, the only small chatter being made was about various test questions and how people thought that they'd done. As it turned out the 1A class for the four main subjects was pretty much constant with only a few people different in each class according to their various strengths or weaknesses. I was glad that I was feeling particularly energised that day as we were given a fair amount of homework from our mathematics teacher as well as any work that wasn't finished in class, which didn't affect me since I'd managed to complete it all.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate let out a sigh as they left the classroom and Abby bid her and Humphrey farewell, heading in the other direction towards her locker. 'What a day...' Kate thought to herself, first a surprise test and now extra Mathematics homework. She followed Humphrey through the crowds towards their lockers which were almost right next to one another, Humphrey's being three away from hers. She noticed that there was fairly little resistance and wondered why, looking up to see that people were already moving out of Humphrey's way and then giving them an even wider berth when they noticed Kate walking behind him. Normally she absolutely hated that kind of special treatment and it annoyed her today as well but she was too drained to bother with it today as they arrived at their lockers.

Kate entered her code and opened her locker, swapping a few of the textbooks in her bag for the ones she'd need for English which was their final class for the day. Mr. Sanposito, their English teacher, had been dropping hints about an essay for the past week now and Kate had a feeling that today was going to be the day, especially if the last two classes were anything to go by. She had just finished repacking the swapped books in her backpack and closed her locker, spinning the dial to lock as she heard it.

"CRASH!"

The sound came from right beside her, grabbing the attention of everyone in the hallway as Kate herself jumped and yelped in shock, turning to see Garth, the captain of the football team, release Humphrey's shirt as he laughed hysterically. Humphrey looked nonplussed as he held his hands up a little in a gesture of peace. Humphrey's obvious confusion just made Garth laugh even harder as he slapped his shoulder with enough force to make Humphrey take a quick step to the side to avoid over-balancing.

"Garth! What the hell?" Kate snapped after a moment, an accusatory look coming onto her face as she glared at Garth. 'God he's such a jerk.' She thought to herself as she waited to hear his excuse this time. She couldn't entirely blame him for his behaviour though, since the teachers _never_ called him out on anything, probably favouring him as the captain of their precious football team.

As Kate spoke up Garth turned to look at her in surprise, the grin fading from his face as he swallowed nervously.

"Oh... Kate. I was just coming to welcome the new kid."

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I looked back and forth between Kate and the senior that she identified as Garth, totally lost as he spoke while wearing a confusing expression. He was a large guy, not quite as tall as Hutch but easily as muscular with rather generic good looks and short brown hair. From afar he seemed to be a fairly normal sort but for some reason he was giving me a bad vibe that I just couldn't ignore and was reinforced by the hostility between he and Kate. I looked back over at Kate to see that she was about to say something but she was cut short as Garth threw his arm around my shoulders, forcing me to turn away.

"Listen up uh... Humphrey isn't it? I've heard a lot about you." He said, speaking quietly so that only I could hear him. 'Like what?' I wondered absently for a moment.

"I... see?" I replied hesitantly, still feeling a bit lost.

"Yeah. Honestly I'd be surprised if half of it was true but let me give you some advice." He continued, pausing for a moment as I shrugged and nodded for him to continue.

"You're new here so it can't be helped that you don't know this but JC is not a nice town." He said, inadvertently bringing the memories of last Sunday to my mind as I glanced back over my shoulder at Kate.

"I noticed that." I muttered, barely aware I'd spoken aloud. Garth nodded at that, following my gaze over in Kate's direction as well.

"Exactly! I knew you were a smart one. Trust me when I say you don't want to associate with the wrong sorts around here." He said, louder now as he gave me a knowing look and a subtle gesture in Kate's direction. 'Are you serious?' I thought as I slowly turned to look at him in disbelief. The look in his eyes told me he was deadly serious however and I took a quick step away, shrugging his arm off my shoulder as I looked at him coldly.

"Garth, was it? I can tell who to trust just fine." I said shortly. Garth looked at me with a shocked expression as though no one had ever disagreed with him before. After a moment his expression grew angry and all of a sudden he lunged forwards, grabbing my shirt and pinning me against the lockers. I held his gaze evenly as he stared me down, his mouth opening and closing slightly as though he was so angry he'd lost the words.

"Watch your back." Garth said after a long moment, slamming me against the locker once more to emphasise his point before letting go of my shirt. I saw Garth smirking as he walked away, the crowds quickly parted to let him through.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked me as I slumped back against the lockers, letting out a deep sigh and nodding.

"Yeah I'm fine." I replied, straightening up and turning to her with a little grin. As I turned I noticed that the locker behind me was dented which shocked me a little since I wasn't hurt at all. I was relieved that it wasn't actually my locker but the one next to it and I wondered a bit nervously whether I would get in trouble for it. 'I'll have to apologise to whoever's this locker it.' I thought to myself as I said aloud, "I thought he might've been your boyfriend or something at first."

Kate gave a dry laugh at the suggestion, shaking her head as I picked up my dropped bag and we began walking towards the cafeteria.

"No, he's just a jerk." She replied, making me laugh as the crowd that had gathered to watch dispersed and we entered the cafeteria, grabbing some trays and joining the queue.

"What? But he seemed so charming." I said in mock disbelief, glancing over to the football team's table where I saw Garth telling them something that made a few of them to send frowns in my direction. 'Just ignore them.' I thought to myself as we slowly moved towards the food and Kate spoke up once more.

"Well actually he _was_ going to ask me out once." She said, a strange smile coming over her face which seemed almost bitter but I couldn't imagine she was mad about not dating someone like that. I was hardly surprised to discover that she'd been asked out before though, after all she was very pretty, anyone could see that.

"You said he _was_ going to ask you out?" I prompted, wondering what had happened.

"Yeah he was but chickened out when he found out my last name was Spencer and realised who my dad was." She said in that same somewhat bitter manner. 'Winston scared him off?' I thought to myself, thinking back to my meeting with him at the boxing gym. Kate's dad was a large enough guy but nothing special physically and had been friendly with me from what I could remember, leading me to be confused as to what I had missed.


	20. Chapter 20: Clueless

**A/N: Hey guys. First of all I'm sorry this chapter is a day late. I stayed up late last night trying to get it out on time but it didn't want to happen. That said its a big one and I'm hopeful you'll think it was worth the wait. That brings me to some news but I'll get to that at the end.**

 **Chapter 20: Clueless.**

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate glanced over at Humphrey in concern but he really did seem fine. She'd seen the state of the locker after the incident between he and Garth at lunchtime and was worried that he'd actually been hurt and was simply putting ignoring it, not wanting to seem weak at school. She knew that he was in phenomenal shape but couldn't help but worry, leading to her having observed him subtly throughout lunchtime and now through most of English as well. Speaking of which she'd been right about the essay, which was about the book they were currently reading and was due on Tuesday. Angel, who sat next to Kate in English had noticed her continued glances and had asked her about it, stating her understanding and promising to keep it a secret which Kate was grateful for. She was also relieved that neither Brittany nor Sam had noticed her watching Humphrey because she knew they'd misunderstand the situation. That said even Angel, who was normally very reserved had glanced in Humphrey's direction and raised an eyebrow after Kate had been forced to mention what he'd looked like with his shirt off.

"Are you serious?" Angel asked, turning back around to face the front again as Kate nodded, pretending to read as they talked quietly.

"Yeah I had a pretty good look when I first met him. And _no_ Angel, it's not what you think. We were in a boxing gym." Kate explained, clarifying when she'd realised that what she said first could be misunderstood all too easily. Angel giggled quietly at her hurried explanation, sneaking another glance at Humphrey when the teacher wasn't paying attention.

"Wow. I knew he must've been in decent shape to join the basketball team but it's like that huh?" Angel said and Kate could tell she was trying to imagine him shirtless. After a moment Kate leaned over a little and nudged her gently in the ribs with her elbow to bring her back to earth.

"Huh? Oh sorry Kate, got a little distracted." Angel said, grinning shamelessly, much to Kate's surprise.

"Angel!" She whispered in mock anger, making both of them giggle. Kate was close friends with all four girls in her group but Angel was undoubtedly her best friend, unsurprising given that they had similar tastes in most areas and trusted each other with just about everything.

"What? I already thought that he was good looking. What you've told me is just icing on the cake." Angel whispered back, mimicking Kate's mock anger with an insulted attitude.

"You should be careful though Kate. Sooner or later people are going to find out more about him and some girls don't have as much restraint as me." Kate tilted her head a bit, confused as to what Angel meant.

"What do you mean?" She asked but Angel didn't respond, merely smiling and returning her attention to the novel in her hands. Kate thought about her words for the rest of the lesson but was no closer to understanding by the time the bell rang and they were all dismissed. As they walked through the school towards the entrance she suddenly remembered something she'd had to do and looked around frantically, standing on her toes to see over the crowd a bit more. She let out a sigh when she spotted Humphrey at his locker, relieved he hadn't left yet as she made her way over, tapping his shoulder gently to get his attention as he closed his locker.

"Huh? Oh hey Kate." He said, smiling when he saw who it was. She smiled back and gestured with her head for him to follow as she moved over to her own locker, opening it to grab her books out. He nodded, quickly saying goodbye to Barry, who'd been talking to him before walking over to Kate's locker.

"So what's up?" He asked. Kate finished packing her stuff and closed the locker, locking it once more before turning to Humphrey.

"Well I needed to tell you that my parents wanted to invite you over for dinner tomorrow night." She said. Admittedly the request had surprised her when she'd heard it that morning since her parents had never invited any of her friends over before, let alone a boy and were usually resistant to accept whenever Kate or Lily had asked if their friends could visit.

"I think it's kind of a thank you for what happened on the weekend." She explained, trying to gauge Humphrey's reaction when he didn't answer for a moment. He appeared to be a little surprised at the invitation himself as he thought for a moment before smiling and nodding to Kate's relief as she'd worried that he would might've been scared off by her dad as well.

"Well if I've been invited by your parents I can hardly refuse can I?" He said in a joking tone before becoming serious for a moment.

"Seriously though I'd love to come if you want me there."

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I admit that I'd been surprised by Kate's sudden invitation. I was about to accept immediately but she'd said that it was coming from her parents so I wondered how she felt about it all. I'd have to check with Charlie as well but I was sure she wouldn't mind and in addition tomorrow was Friday which meant I'd have basketball training but I doubted it'd go _that_ late.

"Of course." Kate said with a renewed smile. She seemed genuinely happy that I was coming which relieved me because I wouldn't have been too happy if this had been all her parents' doing and she was opposed to it.

"There is one other thing." She said after a moment as we walked towards the entrance of the school, continuing after I gestured with my hand for her to continue. "Well I have to stay behind to perform at the Football game. It should finish around the same time as your basketball practice and I was hoping you could give me a lift. Some of my sister's friends are staying over tomorrow night as well and my mum doesn't want to make two trips to the school." I nodded as Kate explained the situation, it made sense to me and I went to accept but hesitated as I thought of a small problem.

"I'd be happy to, the only problem is that I'll need to stop in at home to get ready for dinner. If you're okay with waiting around there for a while then I can't see a problem." I said, which Kate said was fine, finalizing our plans. With that done we parted ways and I drove home, deciding to quickly polish off the homework due tomorrow straight away. That done I went and did some shooting practice at the hoop out the back of Charlie's house before heading inside and starting dinner so that it'd be ready when Charlie got home. I asked her about the invitation to dinner at the Spencer's tomorrow later that night, which she said was fine but seemed a little concerned. She wouldn't say why exactly but made me promise that I'd be careful and watch myself which I thought was strange but complied with.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate lay on her bed after dinner texting her friends since she'd finished the day's homework and had already told her parents that Humphrey had accepted their invitation. She thought about making a start on the English essay as she knew she'd have no time for it tomorrow but couldn't be bothered, figuring she'd do it on the weekend and Monday night if necessary. As she lay there her mind drifted to the events of the day, one in particular sticking at the forefront and causing her to frown as she searched her contacts and pulled up Angel's name in messenger.

 _K:_ Hey Angel, I've been thinking but I still can't figure out what u meant earlier.

 _A:_ Hey Kate. What r u talking about?

 _K:_ What you said about Humphrey in English.

 _A:_ O. What about it?

 _K:_ Well what did u mean when u said I needed to be careful? And about some girls not being about to control themselves?

 _A:_ K you're killing me :(

 _K:_ What's that supposed to mean? :(

 _A:_ Humphrey seems like a good guy but it's not good to be _so_ clueless K.

 _K:_ I don't understand. H and I are friends.

 _A:_ Whatever. I gotta go, Sam is calling. C u tomorrow :)

 _K:_ C u :)

Kate put her phone down and turned off the light, more confused than ever as she fell asleep.

 **No one's POV:**

 _Later that evening, penthouse apartment of Bellario Tower, East Jasper._

A man sat at a large, orate desk in the dimly lit room, cigar smoke slowly collecting in a cloud near the ceiling. The desk itself was a grand piece, carved solid from a single piece of the trunk of one of the largest mahogany trees ever found in Cuba and had been imported to Jasper City at great cost, including bribes, by its occupant. The suite in which it sat was grand in a manner that befitted its stature, located as it was at the top of the tallest hotel in East Jasper. Sitting 35 storeys above the ground the suite commanded an impressive view of the city, or would've did the blinds not remain drawn most of the time.

As the man reached the end of the report he was contemplating he scrunched it shut slowly, the sound of the paper painfully loud in the silent room. After a long moment he spoke, his gravelly voice easily audible despite the quiet tone he used.

"Has my son arrived yet?"

The offsider that stood to one side of the room flinched slightly at the sudden question, clearing his throat nervously before answering in a voice that shook slightly.

"Yes sir, just a few minutes ago." He said, praying to whatever god was listening that he be spared the wrath that was evident in the aura surrounding the man at the desk. After delivering the report he'd expected to receive further instructions or dismissal but after permitting him to enter not a word had been spoken.

"Send him in here."

The gravelly voice sounded once more as the man picked up the large cigar, the end glowing a ominous golden-orange as he took a long draught. Once he had inhaled his fill he turned the cigar on the report, catching it alight and watching the offending piece burn as the offsider sounded in the affirmative and all but sprinted from the room.

 _Ten minutes later._

There was a gentle knock on the door to the apartment which slowly opened a moment later, admitting a tall and muscular young man. He was every bit the stereotypical highschooler, wearing sneakers, ripped blue jeans and a varsity jacket with the JHS logo on it. After gently closing the door he walked into the room, bereft of his usual cocky smile as he walked to the desk and took a seat opposite his father. When he finally spoke his voice had an air of respectfullness to it, though it was not entirely without the somewhat arrogant attitude it's owner was well known for.

"You wanted to see me?" The young man asked, readjusting his jacket and getting into a more comfortable position as he spoke. The man at the desk before him did not answer immediately, instead taking another long puff from the cigar in his hand and then blowing the smoke into his son's face, sending him into a minor coughing fit.

"Garth, my son. I've heard something that has me... troubled."

 **Garth's POV:**

Once Garth had recovered from the coughing fit brought on by the acrid smoke of the cigar his father spoke. He didn't speak a word despite the long pause that followed his father's words, knowing from past experience that interruptions would be... painful.

"I've heard from my other source at your school that you not only failed to recruit a prime target but also got in a fight with him, ruining any chance we had of fixing your mistake." The gravelly voice continued to flow from the man slowly, his seemingly controlled attitude even more terrifying than if he'd chosen to yell. For his part Garth shifted nervously in his seat, looking somewhat pale as he carefully considered his next words. He'd seen what happened to those who upset his father and never wanted to be on the receiving end of a treatment where the lucky ones would die before it got too bad.

"Dad I'm sorry. I did try but he disrespected me." Garth tried, pausing to gauge his father's reaction. The man gave nothing away however, remaining silent as he puffed away at his cigar.

"Plus Kate has her hooks in him deep. There's no chance he would've sided against her." He continued after a moment of silence. At that his father froze for a second, directing a terrifying stare at his son. When he finally moved once more it was to douse his cigar, his hand trembling slightly in anger as he twisted the expensive cigar into the silver ashtray on the desk. All of a sudden he moved in a sudden burst, jumping up and slamming his hands on the table as Garth jumped backwards slightly in fright.

"You let the half-wit Spencer girl beat you to him!?" He yelled, his voice reverberating around the suite while Garth shrunk down in his chair as much as he was able.

"There were rumours that something happened between them before he even started at school. What was I supposed to do?" Garth whined, finding a little stomach in the fact that he was justified on this and managing to return his distraught father's stare.

"Hmmpf."

After what seemed like an age his father grunted, returning to his seat and pulling out another cigar, lighting it up and breathing deep before letting out the smoke with a sigh. As Garth straightened up he spoke again, his voice back to its usual gravelly tone as though nothing had happened.

"About time you showed some backbone. Luckily for us something fell into my lap today." He said. Garth let out a relieved sigh as he was let off the hook, his heart still beating heavily as adrenaline ran through his system.

"What was it?" Garth asked tentatively once he saw that his father was in a relatively good mood. At the question his father's head snapped up, those intense eyes seeming to evaluate him as he waited for some kind of answer.

"An opportunity. One we need to be ready for. Continue on at that disgusting highschool for now, manpower is still as important as ever if our plan is going to work." He said finally, Garth nodding his understanding as he stood up. Just as he was about to leave however his father spoke up once more, calling his attention back as Garth froze mid-turn.

"One last thing. Despite this latest... mistake, you've done well my son. Keep it up and soon you'll get what you wanted."

Garth grinned broadly at his father's words, pleased beyond words as he just nodded again before leaving the room. Once the door was closed behind him Garth let out an enormous sigh, releasing all the pent up tension he'd held throughout that meeting. That done he closed his eyes and smiled, fist pumping a little to the amusement of the two men that guarded the entrance of the penthouse.

"That's a rare sight." The first said with a grin, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the suite's occupant.

"I'm not complaining, at least there's no blood to clean this time." The second replied wryly. The two of them shared a look before shivering, both no doubt recalling previous, less amicable meetings that had taken place in that suite.

"Keep it down or it'll be your own blood you're cleaning up." The first said with a hushing gesture as Garth collected himself and moved towards the elevator, one of the guards pressing the button to call it up for him. It arrived momentarily, courtesy of the penthouse's priority status and Garth entered, pressing the button for the ground floor. As the doors slid closed Garth caught sight of his reflection on the metallic surface, surprised at the broad grin that he was unable to wipe from his face. He honestly couldn't remember the last time his father had paid him a compliment, let alone two in one day.

 **A/N Continued: So what'd you think? I'm planning to make this more or less the new standard for chapter length for this story. Please let me know how you feel about the chapter and the new length.**

 **Unfortunately I do have some bad news however. As of this chapter, New Moons is going to be on hiatus for at least a week, maybe two. Between work and my birthday coming up this week I have almost no spare time. In addition I'm going to be reassessing my plan for the story's future to make it better than ever. It could mean only one, longer chapter per week but we'll see. I'm sorry to have to do this and I hope you can understand. Once more, a big thanks to everyone for their reviews and all of your continued support, it means a lot to me.**


	21. Chapter 21: No comparison

**Chapter 21: No comparison.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

It took a bit longer than usual for my alarm to haul me from dreamland and into the land of the living on Friday morning, unsurprising really since I'd been up until the early hours working on the English essay we'd been assigned. I knew that it wasn't due until Tuesday and had only intended to make a start on it but once I started writing it had just flowed so well that before I knew it 2am had been and gone and the essay was almost complete. I groaned as I silenced my alarm and sat up, taking a second to yawn and stretch before rubbing the sleep from my eyes and heading into the bathroom. It took me longer than usual to get ready since I was still half asleep which meant that Charlie had already finished her coffee and was on her way out the door as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Morning sleepyhead." She said with a smile that broadened as I grunted and gave a half wave in response, heading into the kitchen.

"Have a coffee and make sure you're properly awake by the time practice starts." I heard Charlie call from the doorway as I poured myself a cup and moved to the dining table as usual. "Otherwise I'll have you running suicides until you puke." Charlie added as she left, her parting remark causing me to grimace since I didn't think she was joking. I don't know if it was the coffee or the motivation from Charlie's threat but by the time I arrived at school I was feeling much better although the first bell was already ringing as I parked and got out of my car. I quickly grabbed my bag and locked the car, setting off for homeroom at a run and a little annoyed I'd arrived too late to hang out at all.

I arrived at my homeroom classroom just in time, pausing for a second outside the door to control my breathing before entering. I still had my sports bag with me as I walked over and took my seat but I figured I could make a quick stop at my locker on the way to mathematics to drop it off. I smiled and returned Kate's good morning quietly as the teacher stood up and began to take attendance, once again reminding us in the announcements about tonight's upcoming football match.

"Where were you this morning?" Kate asked me as we left homeroom and headed for our next class, making a quick stop at my locker which thankfully was on the way there so no detour was required.

"I was up a bit later than intended and had a slow start." I explained with a wry smile as I finished at my locker and we continued on our way. As we walked I recognised a few faces in the crowd and greeted Rob, Barry and Abby as they waited outside a classroom that we passed as well as Hutch and a few others on the basketball team when we ran into them near their classroom. We soon arrived at our destination and headed inside, taking our seats along with the rest of the class. Our teacher didn't really seem to mind what we did as long as the work she assigned was completed so Chris and I chatted and joked as we worked, wiling away the time. Before I knew it the bell sounded once more and we were on the move once more, heading for the cafeteria for lunch. Kate, Chris and I were the last to get our food and arrive at our table where everyone was in agreement, bemoaning how dull the day had been.

"... she just never makes class interesting, it's the same every day. Read this. Answer this. Homework." Abby was saying as we joined them, getting nods from all around.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate ate her lunch as she listened to the conversation, one of their more common topics, occasionally chiming in with a comment or two but content to let Abby, Brittany and Sam do most of the talking. After a while she noticed that Humphrey had been silent since they'd arrived at the cafeteria and wondered what was bothering him. Apparently she wasn't the only one to notice as Abby leaned over and nudged his arm, causing him to start a little in surprise and look up from the fries he'd been contemplating.

"Humphrey, you still with us? We were wondering what you thought of Jasper High. How does it compare to your old school?" Abby asked him, repeating the group's general questions. He put his hand on his chin as he thought for a moment and then spoke up.

"Well I know it's only been a few days but I'm really enjoying it here." He said, smiling a bit as he spoke. "Almost everyone I've met has been super friendly and welcoming and so far the classes have been fairly entertaining. I'm having fun." He concluded, grinning around at everyone seated at the table, all of whom returned his smile. Kate was surprised at his bluntness, expecting him to make some kind of joke rather than such a sincere statement as she returned him smile when their eyes met.

"As for how it compares... I can't really say." Humphrey continued slowly after a moment, drawing confused looks from everyone at the table. 'What's that supposed to mean?' Kate thought to herself as she looked around for an answer and saw that everyone else appeared just as confused as she was. She opened her mouth to ask Humphrey what he meant but at that moment the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch break. Humphrey quickly jumped up as it rang, taking his tray over to the disposal area before leaving the cafeteria without another word. Kate exchanged a glance with the others, nodding to let them know she would talk to him before standing up and hurrying to follow suit, catching up with Humphrey just outside the cafeteria. 'What was that about?' She wondered to herself as she fell into step next to him.

They arrived at the science classroom a little early and headed over to their table, sitting down in silence to wait for class to begin. Kate opened her mouth to ask him what that was all about several times throughout class but never managed to go through with it, not wanting to make him mad with her. Neither Abby nor Chris were present due to a band performance they had that afternoon so she and Humphrey sat in an awkward silence for most of the class. Towards the end of the class the teacher was moving around the room, returning yesterday's tests and discussing each student's grade as she did so. 'Now's the time.' Kate thought, gathering her courage and shaking Humphrey's arm gently to get his attention. He looked up at her and smiled like normal, tilting his head in a way that said, 'What's up?' which made Kate wonder if she'd been worrying over nothing.

"Can I ask what happened at lunch?" She said slowly, speaking quietly so that only he could hear her. The smile on Humphrey's face faded and was replaced by a slightly worried expression as she spoke but Kate pressed on, determined to at least ask the question even if he said he didn't want to answer.

"You said you couldn't compare Jasper to your old school and then ran off without a word." She said finished, holding his gaze as she tried to gauge his reaction. After a moment he let out a sigh, his shoulders drooping a little as he gave a nervous little chuckle.

"Ah I'm sorry about that. I thought I was fine with it but I guess my nerves got the better of me after all." He said, looking genuinely apologetic as he spoke. Kate didn't say anything since she sensed he had more to say as he hadn't really answered her question, merely shaking her head with a smile to tell him it was okay.

"It's something that'll come out sooner or later, I was just worried that you'd all think I was a weirdo." Kate was seriously curious now but she didn't let it show on her face since she could see that Humphrey was actually pretty worried about this. 'What on earth could it be?' She thought as she put on her best kindly smile and rubbing his shoulder a bit to comfort him, noting with surprise that even through his t-shirt she could feel his muscles.

"Hey it's okay. I swear that if you want I will keep this strictly between us." She said seriously, meaning every word. "Besides, I already think you're a weirdo." She added jokingly with a grin. Humphrey sat up as she spoke, his expression caught somewhere in between shock and hurt, making her laugh for a moment before she composed herself, continuing in a more serious tone.

"I mean, I've lived in Jasper all my life and I've never met anyone who would save someone and then deny any credit for it. Not to mention get into a fight with a professional boxer over a playground insult directed at someone he met thirty minutes ago."

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I opened my mouth to protest Kate's assessment of my actions on the day we met but stopped myself when I realised she wasn't far off the mark. That and her raised eyebrow made me think that anything I might've said would've only proved her point as I sighed once more, hanging my head in defeat with a grin on my face.

"Point taken. Perhaps I should've said _more_ of a weirdo." I said after a moment, raising my head once more. As I looked up I saw Kate was wearing a smug expression that almost made me take back what I'd said to continue arguing, simply on principle if necessary but I let it go as she spoke.

"So come on, tell me." She said, leaning a little closer. I looked back into those big amber eyes of hers as she looked at me, noticing how they seemed to change colour, starting with a bright sunrise yellow on the inside before moving through a blazing sunset orange in the middle to a deep, rich mahogany on the outer edge that appeared to be the result of a thousand layers of colour. After another long moment I pulled my gaze away, looking forwards at nothing in particular as I spoke.

"Well you know the reason I left in such a hurry. The reason I said I couldn't compare Jasper to my old school is because..." I hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I never went to one. Wednesday morning was my first time attending a school officially as a student in almost exactly seven years." I finally got the words out, letting out the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding as I waiting nervously for Kate's reaction, not even able to bring myself to look at her. She didn't speak for a moment and eventually I turned to look at her, seeing that she was wearing a slightly confused expression.

"Oh so you did some kind of home school or something?"

 **Kate's POV:**

"No, I-" Humphrey started to say something but was interrupted as the teacher had arrived at their table, holding the final two tests out which were obviously Humphrey's and hers as they exchanged a glance before reaching out and taking the tests. Kate felt a little tense as she took the paper but was relieved as she saw the grade in the corner that read '84%'. 'Just below my average but that test was a lot harder than the others.' Kate thought to herself as she smiled in relief, having honestly believed she could well have failed this one since it had been a surprise and she hadn't been able to study beforehand.

"Good work Kate." The teacher said, giving her a smile. "You were a little below your average but given that I sprung this on you without warning I'd say that's still a good result. You would've done better if not for question 10. We discussed that on Monday." She sounded a little disappointed as Kate nodded and sank a little in her seat, knowing why she'd done badly since she'd barely paid attention on Monday, her mind on the events of the then previous day. After giving her a disappointed look for another moment the teacher turned her attention to Humphrey, letting Kate off the hook as she sat back up, also turning in Humphrey's direction to see how he did. She couldn't see what his score was since he had the test open, looking through the answers.

"Now Humphrey, I have to say I'm surprised." The teacher said, surprising Kate by pulling a chair over and sitting down opposite Humphrey. When she spoke again she did so quietly so that only Kate and Humphrey could hear.

"Mr. Shirley told me about your, um, circumstances before you started with us. Knowing that I have to admit I didn't expect you to do well in this test and was thinking of waiving your mark if I had to." She said as Humphrey just looked at her with a fairly neutral expression. 'Does that mean he failed?' Kate thought but realised that probably wasn't the case if the teacher had decided against waiving his score.

"There's not much more to say except that you've done better than well to achieve what you have on your second day without having been with us for the first semester." She finished, giving him a smile before standing up, returning the chair and heading back up to the front of the class. Kate watched her go before turning to Humphrey, smiling as she caught his eye, gesturing towards his test as she spoke.

"Well?"

Humphrey didn't say anything, just smiled a little as he closed his test, shrugging his shoulders as he slid it towards Kate. She was sure he'd closed it upside-down deliberately to keep her in suspense and it'd worked since she was now practically chomping at the bit to know.

"I got lucky I guess." Humphrey said quietly, an embarrassed grin on his face as Kate snatched the paper, turning it over and scanning for the score.

 **A/N: Hey guys, I'm back. Finally I have some time and a new chapter for you. I know I say it a lot but you guys are amazing, thank you so much. Just before this went up New Moons hit a milestone: 3,000 VIEWS! You must all be crazier than I am. It's only been 7 weeks! Anyway as I said you're all amazing. Oh and please. Reviews. I'd love to hear what more of you think. Criticisms. What you do and don't like. What you want to see more of. That's the only way I can make this better for you. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	22. Chapter 22: The third reason

**A/N: Hey guys. Don't know if I ever mentioned this or not but this story is set in 2011. Anyway enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think.**

 **Chapter 22: The third reason.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I smiled and rubbed the back of my head a little as Kate took the test paper, looking at the score written at the top. I looked down at the table as her mouth fell open in a perfect 'O' of surprise, feeling embarrassed as I could feel her staring at me. I had a feeling that I had done well since I'd recognised the content and had managed to answer and double check my work but still, to ace the test was beyond what I would've imagined. 'I really did get lucky.' I thought to myself as I considered that I'd managed to avoid even one silly mistake after not having looked at any chemistry work in six months at least.

"Lucky!?" Kate said incredulously as she handed the paper back to me. I was a little worried that she'd be mad that I beat her but my fears were dispelled as she punched my shoulder with a laugh.

"Humphrey you're a freaking genius. And you call that getting lucky?" Kate said in a jubilant tone. As she spoke the bell rang and we quickly packed up our things, heading out of the classroom and towards our lockers since we both had after school events to attend; Kate the football game with the cheerleaders and me basketball practice.

"I am not a genius." I said as we walked, continuing our conversation from earlier. "Besides, no matter how well you know the subject matter, not making a single mistake can only be considered lucky." I argued, pleading ever so slightly with my tone to try and make her understand as she shook her head with a smile. " _And_ the test happened to be on something I knew about." I added as we reached our lockers, both swapping bags before turning to one another since after this we'd be parting ways for the next hour.

"Whatever you say." Kate said with a smile that told me she was by no means convinced. "Meet me here afterwards?" She asked, turning to leave as I nodded in agreement. I watched her walk away for a moment longer before heading off myself, not wanting to be late for practice as I recalled Charlie's threat from that morning. I ran into Hutch just outside the entrance to the change rooms and entered with him, chatting about the day and our classes as we got ready. He scowled when I mentioned my run in with Garth the previous day, telling me that he had clashed with him in the past as well but since then they'd kept to themselves.

"It can't have anything to do with the fact that you look like you could squash him if he tried anything could it?" I joked as I finished lacing my basketball shoes and stood up, pulling off my t-shirt to change into the Cleveland jersey that I was using as a substitute until I got my uniform. Hutch raised an eyebrow as he looked at me with my shirt off which made me a little self conscious, quickly pulling on my jersey.

"I might be big but Jesus man, you look like you could be in the NBA." Hutch said dryly as we walked out into the gym, causing me to laugh as he just shook his head.

"How you play is what counts." I reply to which Hutch merely rolled his eyes. We dropped of our bags and ran over to join the others in warm up drills which involved taking a shot, gathering the following player's shot and doing a lay-up at the other end of the court before repeating. 'I wonder how the football's going?' I thought to myself as we practised.

 _Approximately 1 hour later._

I closed my locker after retrieving my school bag, spinning the dial to lock it before turning around and slumping against it with a loud sigh as I closed my eyes tiredly, waiting for Kate to arrive. Charlie had pushed us hard today, possibly to make up for Wednesday's practice which I had been told was relatively easy. I'd also played in the practice match in the second half which I was happy about, enjoying playing a game after a few months without doing so. I reckoned that I had done well but I hadn't been all that effective. 'I'm glad I took the time to memorise everything from that playbook Charlie gave me.' I thought to myself as I waited, since knowing what plays were likely to come had helped me greatly.

 **Kate's POV:**

Despite how worn out she was Kate kept up her pace as she ran through the empty hallways of the school towards her locker. The football game had run a little long and she was late, knowing that Humphrey would have already finished practice and was probably waiting for her. A minute later she rounded the final corner and saw that he was indeed waiting for her, leaning against his locker with his eyes closed and looking as though he was napping. As she got there and opened her locker however he opened his eyes, turning his head to look at her with a grin.

"Hey." He said, sounding a little tired as she pulled her schoolbag from her locker. "How'd the game go?"

She closed her locker and headed towards the entrance, answering his question as he fell into step beside her. "I don't really get football but we won. I'm told we should've won easily but a bunch of silly mistakes kept the other team in it." Kate replied, shrugging her shoulders a little. She didn't really have any interest in football and was only in the cheerleader squad because it was the best choice out of all the phys ed classes and she liked to dance. Kate couldn't help but smile as they left the school and she saw Humphrey's car in the car park, the beautiful Mustang appearing to shine as the sunlight caused the paint to shift between various light and dark shades of green.

"So how was practice?" Kate asked as they put their bags in the trunk and got in. Humphrey turned the key, causing the engine to roar to life as he answered, pulling out of the parking space as he spoke.

"It was good, tough though." Humphrey said as they made their way through the streets of Jasper, making decent time as the peak hour traffic wasn't as severe on Friday evenings. "I don't know whether to say Coach was in a good or bad mood but she was really cracking the whip." He continued. The chatted about classes and homework for a bit before Kate remembered a question that she'd meant to ask last time she had ridden in this gorgeous car.

"So Humphrey I was thinking, this car must be worth a small fortune right?" She asked him curiously. Humphrey frowned, pursing his lips as little as he thought about it for a second before answering.

"Well yeah I suppose it is." He spoke slowly but continued after a short pause, seeming to sense her unspoken question. "You already know it's a 1970 Ford Mustang. My grandfather insisted on including every possible upgrade when he built it, including a few that weren't offered to the general public, such as the advanced air conditioning and upgraded sound system." As he explained Humphrey gestured around to the various components of the car. "It also has the Mach 1 upgrades, which he tweaked a little to improve on, covering the engine, brakes, suspension and some aero. As far as I know the parts are still all original."

Kate was a little surprised as Humphrey finished explaining. She knew it was a beautiful car but from what he said she realized that it was almost certainly one of a kind, only increasing her estimation of its value which led to her actual question. "So if it's worth so much, how come you're just driving it around like this?" She asked.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

Kate's question caused me to laugh a bit as I recalled when I'd asked my father a very similar question so many years before.

"You know, I asked my dad almost the exact same question once." I said with a smile. "I'll tell you what he told me..."

 _Flashback, driveway of the Miller residence, eight years prior._

"Dad, how come you drive this car so much? Aren't you worried something will happen to it?" I asked my father as I crawled back under the car, handing him the spanner that I had gone to fetch. He laughed at my question, taking the spanner and tightening the lug before rolling over to face me with a serious expression.

"Humph, do you know why cars exist?" He asked me and I nodded, saying, "To get from A to B."

"That's right Humph, but _this_ ," He paused, adding extra emphasis to the word as he gestured to the car above them. " _This_ is a cool car. And do you know why cool cars exist?" I had no idea what he was getting at and shook my head, following him out from under the car as he finished tightening the other lug and together we stood up.

"Well cool cars exist for three reasons." His father held up three fingers as he explained to accentuate his point, lowering them one at a time as he talked.

"The first reason is to be seen in. A car can look good sure, but if no one ever sees you in it then what's the point?" I nodded his understanding, what my father said made sense to me. As much as I enjoyed looking at nice cars, usually with my father, being in the car with him was definitely better.

"The second reason is to be loved. Now that's not as simple as you might think. You can't just buy a car or build a car or wash and admire a car to love it, you need to _experience_ it. And there is only one way to do that..." He trailed off for a moment, looking a question at me.

"Drive it." I replied, smiling and nodding. 'You and granddad are always telling me that cars are only worth having to drive.' I thought to myself as my father nodded with a laugh, patting the top of my head.

"Good boy. You're right as usual of course. The only way to _experience_ a car is spirited driving." He said, looking down at the car with a fond smile as he reminisced on his own experiences with it.

 _End flashback._

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate was admittedly only half listening to Humphrey's story as they drove. She was too distracted by him, watching the way the spoke, full of energy and with a happy smile on his face the whole time. So far every time he mentioned anything that had happened before last Sunday it felt as though he was holding back some pretty painful emotions but she was glad to see that it wasn't all bad. It was with such thoughts that she'd spent the entire story staring at his face with a smile of her own and it took her a second or two to realise he'd stopped talking.

"So what was the third reason?" Kate asked him since he'd only mentioned the first two. That had answered her original question but she was admittedly curious as to what it could've been as Humphrey chuckled a little.

"You know he never actually told me? I asked him several times but he'd always make some joke or avoid the question by changing the topic. The last answer I got from him was this though." Humphrey said, turning to me with a deadly serious expression after stopping the car in garage of what Kate assumed must've been his house. 'I don't _think_ he'd just park up in some random person's house.' Kate thought to herself with an internal giggle as she focused on Humphrey.

"Son, the third reason that cool cars exist is..." Humphrey began, putting on a deep fatherly tone similar to Kate's own father's manner as he continued staring into her eyes with a serious expression.

"... to pick up chicks." Humphrey finished in the same deadpan manner. Kate stared at him in silence for a moment before bursting into laughter so hard that it made her sides hurt as Humphrey just smiled, turning off the car and getting out. A few seconds later Kate followed suit, having managed to get herself under control as she wiped tears from her eyes, following Humphrey inside the house.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

"Make yourself at home Kate, I shouldn't be long. There's drinks and stuff in the fridge if you want." I said, gesturing towards the kitchen as I made my way across the room and headed upstairs. I knew I wasn't being a great host but I had to be quick since it was already getting on into the evening and Kate would no doubt want time to get ready before dinner as well. 'I'm sure she'll understand.' I thought as I entered my room, closing the door behind me as I dropped my bags on my bed, deciding I could deal with it all later with the weekend upon us. I all but ripped my clothes off and jumped in the shower, not bothering to get the water warm first since I knew Kate was waiting.

As I turned the water off and stepped out I heard some voices downstairs and figured Charlie must've arrived home as I dried off and continued getting ready. Thankfully when it came to what I had to do to get ready it was a relatively short list, my hair wasn't very long so I didn't need to do much except neaten it a little and I had yet to grow any facial hair so I didn't need to shave. After brushing my teeth I was all but finished in the bathroom, applying a small amount of cologne before heading back into my room, pulling on some briefs as I considered what to wear.

"It'll need to be something smart, but not over the top." I muttered to myself as I considered my options which was vastly more than it would've been a week ago. I wasn't overly concerned of going overboard as I thought about Kate's house so I reckoned I'd be fine as long as I stopped short of a full suit. Eventually if came to me and I pulled out the appropriate clothes and put them on, quickly collecting my effects; namely keys, phone and wallet before heading back downstairs.


	23. Chapter 23: Smart-casual

**Chapter 23: Smart-casual.**

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate stopped talking as she heard Humphrey coming back downstairs and both she and Ms. Imnriss turned to take a look as he appeared at the bottom of the steps. Kate felt her breath catch a little at his transformation, he'd only been gone fifteen minutes and the change was remarkable as she saw that Ms. Imnriss was nodding in approval. She saw that Humphrey had gone for the perfect blend of smart and casual with an expensive looking white shirt which was tucked in. He wore smart black jeans, a flash black leather belt with a plain but classy silver buckle and some black leather dress shoes, not wholly dissimilar from what her father wore on sometimes. 'What does dad call them, oxfords?' Kate thought to herself, trying to remember. She also noticed that Humphrey had styled his hair a bit, wearing it neater than he normally had it and leaving her to admit without reservation, though silently, that he looked damn good.

"I thought you were just going to have dinner with the Spencer's?" Ms. Imnriss said in a light tone, pulling Kate back to reality as she smirked and gestured to Humphrey's getup. He said nothing, just scowling a little at her for a moment before smiling.

"I don't think I'll be too late." He said before turning in Kate's direction with a small grin. As Kate stood to leave she noticed Ms. Imnriss roll her eyes in a way that she was sure meant 'I doubt that' though she didn't really know why as she followed Humphrey towards the door. She paused in the doorway as he went ahead, getting in and starting the car as she turned back to the young woman at the table with a smile.

"It was nice to see you Ms. Imnriss." Kate said, giving a tiny bow in her direction. "I'll see you at school." As she finished Kate saw her roll her eyes again but she smiled warmly at her.

"You're welcome here any time Kate. Don't get up to too much mischief tonight." She replied. Kate promised she wouldn't before turning and running to the car, sliding into the passenger seat and buckling in as Humphrey reversed out.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

It had just ticked over 5:35pm as we pulled up to the gate that lead to Kate's property. Whoever operated the gate must've recognised my car because Kate didn't even have time to stick her head out of the window before the wrought iron gate began to slide open. As I waited for it to move aside enough for me to drive through I studied it a little more closely, noticing the intricate carvings etched into each of the bars. 'It's more work of art than security measure.' I thought to myself as I drove forwards, once again being careful to drive slowly and smoothly to avoid tearing up the gravel driveway.

As we reached the end of the driveway I was surprised to see Silas, the Spencer's head butler, standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the front door and clearly waiting for us. 'Well I guess I am actually a guest this time.' I thought to myself as I parked the car and turned it off. I got out of the car, smiling and nodding a greeting to Silas as we walked over, giving me a deep bow.

"Mr. Humphrey, welcome." He said as he straightened up. I walked around the car to Kate's side, opening and holding it for her as she got out, the gesture causing her to giggle, which I ignored, closing the door and heading around to the trunk to open it so that she could collect her things.

"Hello Silas, it's good to see you again." I replied, closing the trunk and walking over to him, offering my hand which he accepted after a second. We both smiled at that, recalling our last meeting where I'd almost made something of an etiquette blunder as Silas turned to Kate, taking her bags from her with another small bow.

"Welcome home Miss Kate." He said before turning and leading us inside. As we topped the small flight of steps Kate stepped over to me, grabbing my arm gently.

"I'm gonna go get ready, will you be alright for a while? I shouldn't be more than 30 minutes." She said with a little concern. I nodded and assured her that I would be fine as she gave my arm a tiny squeeze before running off, heading up the grand central staircase and towards the left wing of the house where I assumed her room must be located. Once she was gone I took a look around the entrance hall that we were standing in, unsurprised to find that the house was just as impressive on the inside, if not more so. The main feature of the room would've had to be either the central staircase set against the wall opposite the door that went straight up before branching into two arms that swept left and right. The stairs themselves were of the same stone, I supposed marble, whilst the banisters were a mixture of that material and a dark, treated wood that I couldn't identify.

This staircase all but dominated the room and would've been uncontested for the main attraction had it not been for the large chandelier that hung from the roof in the centre of the room. I was a spectacular piece, using real candles to cast light on the carved crystal shards that refracted it around the room in a breathtaking display. Beyond these two main pieces there was a smattering of well-kept pot plants and art pieces around the room as well as a few paintings adorning the walls. All in all it was a room that achieved a sense on minimalist grandeur perfectly and in many ways captured the essence of the property as a whole. I realised that it was more than likely a reflection on the character of the home owners themselves but it was hard to tell without really knowing them.

"Where are Kate's parents? I should go and say hello." I said, dragging myself away from admiring the house to look over at Silas who had just closed the front door behind us and turned back around as he answered, nodding as though he approved of my suggestion.

"Mrs. Spencer is busy in the preparing dinner in the kitchen where I must return shortly to help but Mr. Winston is in the parlour if you wish to see him. I believe he was taking a call but that has likely finished." Silas said, picking up Kate's bags once more and heading towards the stairs as I followed.

"It's the door directly opposite as you reach the top of the stairs, down the end of the corridor." He finished, gesturing to the branch leading up to the right wing of the house.

"Alright, thanks Silas." I said, grinning and nodding as we went our separate ways. I'd been going slowly on the stairs, partly because I didn't want to make too much noise but also because I'd figured that they would've been quite slippery and the embarrassment would've been worse than the pain if I fell. I needn't have worried however as each of the steps had a pattern etched into them, roughing up the surface and providing sufficient grip without making them uncomfortable to walk on. The pattern itself was subtle and the design reminded me of some of the old Norse patterning I'd seen in the past as I reached the top, heading down the corridor.

 **Winston's POV:**

Winston looked up from the article he was reading as he heard a gently knock on parlour door, speaking from them to enter after a second as he placed the article to the side and picked up the coffee that had sat on the small table to his side.

"Excuse me." He realised how it must be as he heard a young male voice from behind the door. Winston took a sip of coffee as the door was opened, revealing that it was indeed Humphrey on the other side as he'd thought. He entered the room slowly, standing nervously just inside as he looked around at the decor as well as the rather stunning view from out of the main window.

"Humphrey. It's great to see you again. Do come in, have a seat." Winston said, placing the cup in his hand down and standing up with a smile, gesturing to the armchair next to his. Humphrey seemed to relax a little at this, walking over and taking the seat with a smile.

"Thank you, it's good to see you as well sir." Humphrey replied as he sat, his very proper manner making Winston chuckle a bit.

"Please Humphrey, call me Winston. Or at least Mr. Spencer. Only my subordinates call me sir." He said a little seriously as he looked over at the young man before him, noting that he was dressed quite sharply compared to when they'd first met.

"So how has your first week at school been?" He continued after a moment, taking a sip of coffee. Kate had already told he and Eve some of what had happened but he was curious to hear it from Humphrey himself.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I nodded with a smile, thinking a moment about the last few days before answering the question.

"Then I will, thank you Winston." I said, addressing his earlier statement as well as trying out the name, surprised to find that I was quite comfortable with it. I'd met many people in my life, a lot of whom were adults who I had usually had no qualms about addressing by their first names if they asked me to but it was different with Winston. He certainly seemed more imposing somehow and I still felt that it would've been more appropriate to call him sir or Mr. Spencer but I could hardly do so after being asked specifically to address him by name.

"School has been good. Everyone has been friendly to me and the classes are quite interesting." I continued, answering Winston's question. We chatted back and forth for a while though it was mostly just me answering questions about school and basketball, which Winston seemed quite interested in. I was surprised by his keen interest in the team but it became clear after he mentioned that he actually sponsored both the basketball and football teams. 'That explains all the equipment we have.' I thought to myself as the conversation fell into a natural silence.

It had been about half an hour and I figured that I should go and find Kate as I began thinking of a way to excuse myself when Winston stood up saying, "Forgive me Humphrey. I don't mean to be rude but I need to make a phone call."

I quickly stood up myself, shaking my head with a smile. "No, no, it's quite alright. I'll go and find Kate, she's probably had time to get ready." I said as Winston walked me over to the door.

"Thank you. I'm sure dinner won't be very much longer." He said as I left the room and he closed the door behind me, no doubt returning to his seat to make whatever phone call was necessary. Sure enough as I began making my way down the corridor I heard him begin speaking though I couldn't make out the words.

 **Kate's POV:**

 _Ten minutes earlier._

Kate let out a relieved sigh as she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. The warm water had done wonders to relax her tired muscles after the performance at the game earlier. She caught sight of herself in the mirror as she dried off and paused, posing a little as she inspected her figure critically. Her skin had a little colour to it but it was nowhere near the level of Brittany's tan, who insisted that it was just her heritage and that was her natural colour but Kate was sure it wasn't. Kate was fairly happy with the shape her body was in, she was very active, regularly working out in addition to her cheerleading activities which left her in excellent shape.

Kate paused for a moment as an image of Humphrey popped into her mind and she frowned a little, wondering just how much work he must've put in to get into and stay in that kind of shape. She was still deep in thought as she stepped out of the bathroom, heading towards her wardrobe to find something to wear. As she was nearing the entrance the door to her room opened and someone walked in, yanking Kate from her thoughts as she jumped and squealed with shock, grabbing the nearest item to cover herself which happened to be a certain leather jacket with a fur trim that had been sitting on the cabinet next to her.

"Jeez relax sis. It's only me." Lily said as she entered the room, unashamedly walking past Kate and into her wardrobe, grabbing one of Kate's jackets. Kate's cheeks were flushed as she stared at Lily, her emotions running as she got over her shock, moving to relief and then onto anger.

"Lily! What the hell?" Kate said loudly, giving her sister an accusing glare as she came back out of the walk-in wardrobe. There was an amused smile on Lily's face as she looked back at Kate, thoroughly undaunted by the icy stare she was getting.

"What, I just needed this. It goes perfectly with the outfit we're putting together." Lily said, her grin widening as she walked to the door, pausing for a moment to add, "Did you think it was Humphrey or something?"

Kate said nothing, feeling herself blush even harder as Lily just flashed an infuriating smile and disappeared, closing the door behind her. After another moment and a deep breath Kate managed to calm herself down, pulling her thoughts away from her annoying sister as she opened a draw, selecting some undergarments and pulling them on.

"What should I wear?" She muttered to herself, looking around the wardrobe thoughtfully.


	24. Chapter 24: Dinner for seven

**A/N: Hey guys, not much to say. Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think. Today we learn a tiny bit more about Humphrey's past...**

 **Chapter 24: Dinner for seven.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I walked across the house and over to the left wing, pausing as I considered the corridor that confronted me. It was almost identical in design to the one in the right wing but I had no idea which room was Kate's since all the doors were closed and unlabelled. After a moment I came to a decision, walking slowly and quietly down the corridor, pausing outside the first door to listen for a moment. I could her several different voices talking within as well as a fair bit of giggling and some music playing, leading me to conclude that this must be Lily's room. 'I remember Kate mentioning that her sister was having some friends over tonight.' I thought to myself, leaving the first door behind as I considered the remaining two. Judging from the way things were set up here I took a guess that Kate's was the closer of the two, leaving it situated between Lily's and her parents' bedroom as I approached the door.

I knocked gently but got no response. After a second I slowly turned the handle, wondering if I was about to walk in on something I shouldn't as I entered the room. My concerns were unfounded however as I entered the room and saw that Kate was already dressed and stood in front of a mirror in the bathroom, applying some makeup. I didn't really think she needed it but I'd been told in the past that women thought differently than men, especially when it came to things like this. Kate smiled as she glanced over and saw me.

"Oh hey Humphrey, I'll just be one minute. Make yourself at home." She said before returning her attention to her task. I returned her smile and nodded, walking over and taking a seat on the edge of her bed as I looked around the room. It was quite tidy and spacious, reminding me a little of a fancy resort but for the splashes of personal touches that proved someone lived here. There was a walk-in wardrobe across from an ensuite bathroom, a large double bed upon which I currently sat and a desk in the corner with what might've been a diary on it. I was curious what it might've contained but restrained myself since I couldn't just go through someone's personal things as I contented myself to continue looking around. A large TV was hung on the wall opposite the foot of the bed and there was a beautiful painting of a river on the other wall, next to the door.

I thought I could see the jacket I had given Kate to wear the day I'd met her on a hook in the wardrobe but I couldn't be certain that it was and shrugged it off, figuring that she'd return it at some point. 'Or maybe not.' I thought to myself with a silent chuckle as she finished her makeup and came out of the bathroom, sitting down on the bed next to me. She was wearing a black top that was a cross between a turtle neck sweater and a long sleeved t-shirt, a dark red skirt and some black stockings. I had to admit she looked even better than usual as she sat next to me and I noticed that she smelled good as well, wearing some kind of perfume though I had no idea what.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate smiled as she sat down on the bed next Humphrey, noticing that he was wearing some kind of cologne that she really like the smell of. She thought he might've been staring at her but she found she didn't really mind as she looked up at him.

"Sorry that took so long. I hope you weren't too bored waiting for me?" She said after a moment but Humphrey just smiled and shook his head.

"It's okay, I went and said hello to your dad. We ended up chatting for a while about school and basketball and stuff." Humphrey said, pausing for a moment as he turned to her with an easy grin. "You look great by the way."

Kate smiled, finding herself absurdly pleased by the complement, much more so than whenever one of her friends do so.

"Well you were looking so good that I had to match." She said quietly, a small smile on her face as she blushed. She honestly had no idea what she was doing; she never acted like this normally but it felt like something had come over her as Humphrey laughed a bit.

"I don't know about matching, you-" Humphrey started talking but was interrupted as the door to Kate's room opened and Silas entered, giving them a small bow as they both looked at him.

"Excuse me for interrupting but dinner is ready and about to be served in the dining room." Silas said, turning to the side as he stood with one hand behind his back and the other towards the door.

"If you would allow me to guide you." He finished. Kate looked at Humphrey, returning his grin as he got up and offered her his hand.

"Guess we'd better go. Don't want to keep anyone waiting." He said as she nodded, taking his hand and letting him help her up. His hand was warm and she could still feel the warmth in her own palm after he let go and followed Silas out of the room, down the stairs and across to the house's right wing where the dining room was located.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

My thoughts were going about a hundred miles a minute as Kate and I followed Silas to the dining room which was situated right below the parlour. I took a deep breath to control myself and slow my thoughts to a more manageable level as Silas opened the double doors and we entered the dining room. The table was in the centre of the room with seven seats at it; three along each side and one at the end in which Winston was seated. Lily and her friends were already seated in the three seats on the opposite side of the table leaving the remaining three for Kate, Eve and I.

"Please have a seat Humphrey." Silas said after a moment, pulling out the middle chair and gesturing to it. I walked over and sat down slowly as he pushed it in for me, feeling a little out of my element from the treatment. I supposed that I _was_ a guest of Winston and Eve's and all but it still felt a little wrong. 'At least he's not calling me sir or Mr. Miller or something.' I thought to myself with some relief as Kate took the seat to my left, leaving the one between Winston and myself free for Eve. Silas quickly left the room after I was seated, presumably to get the food and I looked around the room, in which the decor matched the rest of the house and the table was set with fancy silverware in the traditional fashion.

I silently thanked the stars for the etiquette lessons that had been forced on me by a family that I'd stayed with in England for a while. My parents had always forced me to eat and act politely but when it came to traditional meals there was a whole world of manners to observe and the slightest mistakes could lead to insult. Silas entered the dining room pushing a trolley laden with covered silver dishes a moment later, followed by a blonde woman who resembled Kate and could only have been Eve. I stood up and offered my hand as she arrived at the seat next to me whilst Silas began placing the dishes on the table.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am, you must be Kate's mother. I'm Humphrey." I said with a smile as she shook my hand and gave me a once over before smiling warmly herself.

"No question about that, you're just the way Kate described. I am indeed Kate's mother but please Humphrey, call me Eve. I feel old enough as it is." She said, her smile fading a little as she added the last part.

"Very well then Eve, I'll do just that." I replied as we sat down and I tried to ignore the fact that it seemed as though Lily and her friends were staring at me.

A delicious smell assaulted me as Silas lifted the lids off the food, revealing a huge selection of delicacies. As I breathed in the delicious aroma I suddenly remembered how hungry I was and stared ravenously at the feast before us, only my sense of politeness holding me back. Looking around I could see a roast chicken, a selection of steak cuts and a whole fish that I believed was a rainbow trout on a bed of salt rocks. These were accompanied by a thin looking soup and several plates with various side dishes. Silas quickly took drink orders from everyone before bowing as he backed away.

"Eve this looks absolutely incredible." I said sincerely, gesturing to all the food before us as everyone began to serve the various dishes onto their plates before passing them on in a continuous chain. I had always eaten a lot but I was worried that they'd think if I took too much since everyone else was only taking small amounts. Eve's next words dispelled my concerns however.

"Well thank you Humphrey. I'm sorry I couldn't come out and greet you earlier but as you can see I might've gone a bit overboard." She said with a smile as I shook my head, saying that it was quite alright. "But dig in, you and Kate must be hungry after school and practice right?"

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate was surprised by Humphrey throughout dinner. She'd been starving after her performance at the football game and had loaded her plate with her mother's delicious cooking that was at least on par with Silas' who'd worked in many of the most famous restaurants in the world. Despite how hungry she was, Humphrey had somehow managed to eat three times more than her, keep the conversation flowing smoothly and maintain a perfect etiquette throughout dinner. Kate had mostly just listened to him for most of the meal, only chipping in to answer the odd question sent her way by her parents as she listened and laugh at his self-deprecating humour.

"Seriously Eve that was amazing. If I had cooking like this every day I'm sure I'd die from exercising too much so that I could eat more." Humphrey said, getting laughs from Kate's parents once more. As he sat back Kate exchanged a glance Lily who shook her head, confirming what she'd been thinking that neither of them could remember their parents being in such a good mood in forever.

A short while later Lily and her friends excused themselves to head off and do whatever it is they wanted to do, leaving the four of them alone as they sat, chatting and drinking the coffees that Silas had brought in after desert. Kate still couldn't really believe what she was seeing as Humphrey and her parents exchanged stories like old friends.

"Alright Kate, your turn." Humphrey said, dragging her from her thoughts as they all turned to look at her. She fell into thought for a moment, wondering what story she could tell, looking up after a moment as it came to her.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I smiled as I listened to Kate's story, which was admittedly a good one. It was about a time back in middle school when Sam had run out of hair dye and had returned to being blonde, leading her and Angel to run around the school pulling various pranks on everyone.

"All right Humphrey, your turn." She said, turning to me after she finished telling her story. I'd been thinking about what to tell for most of her story and fortunately one time had come to me just before she'd finished.

"Okay so about four years ago or so I was in Finland, just outside Helsinki. I was making my way towards the Russian border, hitchhiking whenever possible..." I began.

 _Flashback, 2006, close to the border between Russia and Finland._

"We need to make small stop at bank." The man in the seat next to me said in a heavy Russian accent, using English since he knew I was only just beginning to learn Russian. I nodded to show I understood and settled back down in my seat as they pulled the van up in front of the bank, leaving it running as they grabbed a few things from the back and headed inside. It was early in the morning so there was no one else around in the small, sleepy town near the Russian border. Not that anyone with sense would be outside now as it was freezing cold with winter officially starting in a week or so. I'd been travelling with this trio for three days now, having met them just outside Helsinki and finding out with happy coincidence that they were returning to Russia and could drive me the whole way to St Petersburg.

A few minutes later I unbuckled my seatbelt, crawling through to the driver's seat, where I sat down so that I could operate the heater and radio controls. A few seconds later as I flicked through the through the radio stations I looked up to see a police car pull into the car park but I didn't pay it much mind since the sirens weren't on. I eventually found a station with some good music and leaned back in the seat, nodding my head in time with the beat and occasionally singing along. A minute later I jumped in surprise as the bank's alarm went off, the wailing siren was almost deafening from so close and was surely heard by everyone in town.

The two officers certainly heard it, jumping out of their cruiser and heading towards the bank entrance. They only made it a few meters from the car when the three men I was travelling with burst out of the bank, the two groups standing frozen for a second as they stared the other down. They were carrying large duffel bags and were wearing ski masks but I could tell it was them as I watched nervously through the window, scarcely able to believe what was happening. 'Holy crap...' I thought to myself as Dimitrov, who'd done most of the driving so far, yelled something in Russian and drew a pistol from his belt. The officers dived to the side as he fired, the pistol roaring six times as he and the others ran over to the van, all but ripping open the doors as they bundled in.

"DRIVE!" Dimitrov yelled at me as he got into the passenger seat, firing another shot to keep the officers pinned before closing the door. I'd been sitting there frozen as all of this had gone down over a few seconds but his shout made me jump, forcing me back to my senses as I put the car in gear and floored the accelerator. I could barely see over the dash while reaching the pedals as I steered desperately, weaving between cars and other various obstacles as I prayed to whoever was listening. The tires screamed in protest as a few cars at a red light forced me to swerve right, barrelling through an alleyway and out onto another street, narrowly avoiding a close encounter with a cafe as I turned sharply, almost tipping the van before getting it back under control.

I drove normally for a few blocks before Dimitrov deemed it safe, ordering me to pull into a car park outside a diner. I parked the car, putting the handbrake on before all four of us sighed, slumping down in exhaustion as Dimitrov, Sergei and Alexei all burst out laughing, clapping me on the shoulder and congratulating me which I had mixed feelings about. We quickly swapped seats before leaving the diner and I crawled into the seat at the very back of the van, falling asleep quickly after the adrenaline wore off.

 _End flashback._


	25. Chapter 25: Crazy things

**Chapter 25: Crazy things.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I noticed that Silas had entered the dining room and was listening in on my tale with the others. Kate and her parents were an excellent audience, listening without interrupting and reacting in all the right spots as I recounted the events.

"We arrived at the border the following evening and I was really worried. I was sure that we'd be stopped, arrested, searched or denied entry but apparently Dimitrov and the others were well known by the people who worked at the customs check point because they didn't even ask for our passports." I continued, smiling as I recalled that nerve wracking experience. All the way through the border I'd sat on the back seat in silence, shaking in fear that I'd be sent to prison.

"Anyway we quickly got over the border and into Russia, making our way South East to the city of St Petersburg which is where they were heading and where we'd be parting ways. The night we arrived in the city however they insisted on taking me out to dinner with their friends to celebrate. I accepted of course, free food, why not? I didn't really give it much thought until we actually arrived at the place that evening and saw that they'd booked out the entire restaurant and posted a bunch of security guards to keep people out. I was glad that I wasn't arriving alone because the looks I was getting would've made me turn around and run away had the others not been behind me." I said with a chuckle, pausing the story to take a drink as the others laughed as well at the notion of a young boy amongst such intimidating adults.

"We entered the restaurant and I saw about thirty people sitting around one large table with more security guards around the edge of the room. Many of them looked pretty wealthy but it wasn't until I saw how even Dimitrov was acting meekly towards a few of the others that it occurred to me I was about to dine with almost the entire upper echelons of the Russian mob." I paused once more as Winston burst out laughing, making me smile a little as I was glad they appeared to be enjoying the story. Kate and Eve both had shocked expressions while Silas merely looked down at the group for a moment with a small smile.

"So what did you do? You must've been scared." Eve said, placing a hand on my shoulder as she looked at me in concern.

"Oh yes, I was absolutely petrified as we sat down at the table and ordered." I replied, nodding emphatically as I continued the story.

"I was getting a lot of angry looks but after we had all ordered one of the oldest and richest looking pointed at me and yelled out 'Who is this runt and why is he at my table!?'." I stood up and mirrored his actions as I spoke to general laughs before returning to my seat with a smile.

"I thought I was a goner at that point but Dimitrov saved me, jumping in and telling them what had happened back in Finland. After that they all loved me and not too long after _that_ they were all drunk, even the old guy who'd yelled at me earlier. He actually came over to me later and congratulated me, rambling on about how I was family and thanking me for saving, and I quote, 'those three idiots.'. So that was how I became friends with thirty of the most dangerous men in all of Russia at the time." I said with a small shrug as I finished the story.

 **Kate's POV:**

There was silence in the room for a moment as Humphrey finished his story and Kate was sure that her mother was just as shocked as she was, although her father seemed to find the whole thing very amusing as he chuckled to himself.

"H-Humphrey, is that... really all true?" Kate asked him after a moment in a quiet voice. She couldn't really believe that all that had happened but it also didn't seem like he'd just made it all up, not to mention that from what she'd seen it wasn't in his character to lie. He turned to her as she asked the question, grinning and nodding in response.

"Yeah it's all true. I admit I barely knew what was happening for half of it though." He said, rubbing the back of his neck as he blushed lightly and laughed a bit nervously.

"At the bank I just moved, I didn't even think about it until later. Plus, I was pretty young and even after I thought about it later I probably didn't understand what I'd done really." Kate shook her head at this and fell silent for a bit, lost in thought as Humphrey chatted with her parents who somehow really didn't seem to phased by the whole thing, although that could've been just because they were older than she was. A little while later they excused themselves and, after exchanging numerous words of thanks and praise back and forth with Humphrey they left the room, leaving her and Humphrey alone.

"Hey Kate, you okay? You're being pretty quiet there." Kate looked up with a start as Humphrey spoke, returning from her thoughts to the now where Humphrey was looking at her in slight concern.

"Yeah I'm okay, it's just..." She didn't know exactly how to say what she was thinking and was also a bit nervous about how Humphrey would react if she did. He'd shown that when it came to his past it was certainly a mixed bag and despite all the mystery, Kate did know that he'd lived a life that was complicated, far from ordinary and in many cases painful.

"What is it?" He asked her, tilting his head to the side a little in that way of his. She could hear a little concern in his voice as she looked into his eyes, that icy blue gaze of his seeming to look right into her core.

"Promise you won't get mad at me?" She said, continuing with her question as he nodded his head in affirmation. "I want you to tell me what happened to you in the past. You said you haven't attended a school in years and you're always doing such crazy things. And now I find out you were travelling alone in Russia, when you were _ten years old._ "

"Almost eleven." Humphrey muttered to himself with a small grin before falling silent at the look she was giving him. She was about to continue when he held up his hands to stall her, a slight frown coming over his face.

"It's alright Kate, I think I know what you're getting at..."

 **Humphrey's POV:**

"I can't tell you everything." I said bluntly. I felt a little bad about so flatly refusing Kate's request but that was how it was. I couldn't just tell her everything, it was a burden that I couldn't possibly place on someone else and now that Kate and I were becoming close friends I was even more determined for her not to find out. 'At least until I'm able to carry it myself without stumbling at every mention of the past.' I thought to myself as a sad look came onto Kate's face.

"I'm sorry Kate but I just can't talk about it yet. I assure you that it's me and not you." I elaborated, relieved as she nodded and her expression cleared up a bit. She still seemed a bit upset but it appeared as though she understood.

"What I will say is that, despite meeting many great people over the years my life has been pretty lonely since my parents died. I would give up all the experiences I've had to have what you call a normal and boring life." I finished, speaking sincerely and knowing that all of it was true. To have my family back, to have gone to school with friends and grown up with a loving family, there was nothing better than that, no amount of travel and adventure that could fill the void they left in me.

"Really?" Kate asked me after a moment, her tone a little hopeful as she looked at me with an expression that said she didn't quite believe it. I nodded and she continued, "I've lived here in Jasper all my life. I mean we've been on family holidays before but nothing wild. From my perspective your life sounds so wonderful and exciting." She said before quickly adding, "Sorry if that seems crass."

I shook my head with a weak smile. "Like everyone, there's good and bad times in my past."

We chatted for a while longer before I figured it was time to leave and we left the dining room, making our way towards the front door. We ran into Winston, Eve and Silas in the entrance hall and stood in a small circle just inside the doorway as we exchanged goodbyes and I expressed my thanks once more for the wonderful dinner. As I'd been leaving Kate had grabbed my attention, rushing in for a brief hug which surprised me but was nice as she whispered "Thanks", before letting go and stepping back with a blush that I'm sure I mirrored.

It was almost 11pm by the time I arrived at home, slowly rolling the car into the garage with a tired sigh. I'd enjoyed my time at the Spencer's but I realised now that I was dead tired as I entered the house, moving quietly since the lights were out and I figured Charlie must be asleep. I managed to make it to my room without running into anything and quickly got ready for bed, falling asleep moments after my head hit the pillow.

My eyes were gummed with sleep as I peeled them open the following morning, the melodic sounds of a piano reaching my ears after a moment as I became aware of my alarm. With a groan I rolled over and shut it off before getting up and preparing for the day; getting three quarters of the way through my morning ritual before realising that it was Saturday and I had no real plans for the weekend other than the hour or two worth of homework to finish. When I arrived downstairs I was surprised that Charlie didn't appear to be up yet but shrugged it off as I figured she probably enjoyed sleeping in on weekends since she was up so early for school all the time. I sat at the table for a while drinking my coffee before standing up and setting about making breakfast.

"Charlie! Breakfast!" I yelled up the stairs a few minutes later as I finished preparing the meal, placing a plate on the table along with a cup of coffee for Charlie before taking my usual seat and digging in. A moment later Charlie appeared at the bottom of the stairs, hastily dressed in casual clothes as she yawned and stretched. She joined me at the table and we ate in silence, although I noticed with some amusement that she perked up considerably after eating a bit and having a sip of coffee.

"So, how was last night? I didn't hear you come in." She asked me after a while, smiling in a way that said she had a fairly good idea. I didn't answer immediately, scraping the last of my breakfast onto my fork and finishing the meal first.

"It was good. Mrs. Spencer cooked an absolutely amazing meal and then we all chatted for a while." I answered, suspecting that I wasn't going to get off that lightly. Charlie's reaction proved me right as she raised an eyebrow and gave me a smile that seemed to say 'oh really?'.

"Is that so? And... nothing else happened?" She sighed and shook her head when I gave her a look that clearly answered the question. 'What does she want me to say? It was just dinner.' I thought to myself as I left to go to my room and finish the remaining homework I had.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate slumped forwards, letting her head hit the open novel on the desk before her as she groaned in frustration. She'd barely started on the essay they'd been assigned as homework and she was totally stuck; not to mention this was the third time she'd sat down to do it. The night before she'd tried but figured that she was tired and that a good sleep would clear things up, which of course it hadn't. Then she'd tried again earlier today and had no more luck than before so she'd given up after a while of sitting and getting nowhere, deciding to go and work out for a while to take her mind off it all. 'I've still got other homework to do as well...' She thought to herself, letting out another groan.

As she sat and lamented her lack of inspiration and motivation she noticed her phone light up with a notification and she picked it up to see what it was. Normally she would've forced herself to ignore it in favour of her homework but she figured it was fine since she wasn't getting anything done at the moment anyway. She smiled when she saw that it was a message from Humphrey, asking about the Social studies homework they'd received.

 _H_ : Hey Kate, could you tell me what homework we got in Social Studies?

 _K_ : Hey Humphrey. It was just finishing the questions we were doing in class up to 30. Not looking forwards to it :(

 _H_ : What you mean?

 _K_ : I know the questions are easy but it's a lot of reading. Plus I'm stuck on this dumb essay.

 _H_ : Anything I can help with? I just finished mine before I messaged you.

 _K_ : Of course you did... :/

 _H_ : What does that mean?

 _K_ : Nothing. I just don't really get it.

 _H_ : Well I have an hour free now.

 _K_ : How'd you figure that? What about SS homework.

 _H_ : Did them in class. So what's up?

Kate laughed and shook her head at the last message. 'Of course he managed to finish them all in class.' She thought to herself as she considered taking him up on his offer of help. Kate always did all her work and study by herself, unless it was group work of course, since she felt that was the only way she'd ever make it herself, rather than relying on others.

"That being said..." She muttered to herself, looking down at the essay before her. She was getting nowhere fast and after a moment she came to a decision, pulling up Humphrey's name from her contacts and hitting call. 'I can at least get him to help me onto the right track.' She thought as she listened to the phone dial.


	26. Chapter 26: Triggers

**A/N: I seem to be doing a lot of these notes huh? Oh well, sorry this chapter is later than expected. Life happened. Enjoy. And review, please. I want to know how to make this story better for you all.**

 **Chapter 26: Little Secret.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I smiled as I said goodbye to Kate, noticing as I hung up that we'd ended up chatting for just shy of an hour. 'Now what?' I thought to myself as I put my phone on charge and stood up with a stretch, heading downstairs for a snack. I wiled away the remainder of the weekend with a mixture of basketball practice, working out and looking around for possible work. I'd asked Kate over the phone about the amount of homework we had and she'd said this was pretty much as it was, maybe even a bit more than usual with the essay.

 _Monday morning, outside Jasper High._

I pulled into an empty space and sat for a moment, smiling as I listened to the rhythmic grumble of the engine before I cut it off and got out. I grabbed my bags from the trunk and headed towards the doors, looking around as I walked to see if I could spot anyone I recognised but there was no one. 'Guess I'm a little early.' I thought to myself as I went inside and made a line for my locker to drop off my sport bag before deciding that I may as well just go to class, sitting down by the doorway wait.

"Ah Humphrey, just who we needed." A voice said from nearby and I looked up to see that it was Hutch who had spoken and that he was accompanied by Kevin, another of my teammates. I grinned and nodded a greeting to them as I stood, tilting my head a little as I wondered why they wanted to see me, not that I minded, they seemed like good guys I'd like to be friends with.

"Since we have a game on Friday we wanted to make sure that you have a uniform sorted, can't have you out there without one after all." Hutch explained. I was admittedly a little surprised that it seemed to have already been decided that I'd play given that I'd only really been involved in one team practice.

"If it's about that then it's fine, I've already spoken to coach and the uniform is ordered, although I don't know what number I'll be yet." I replied, to which Hutch let out a small sigh of relief that there wasn't an issue and Kevin chuckled.

"If I know the coach then it'll be 13 for sure." He said, causing Hutch to smile and nod in agreement. "It's the next prime number that's available. All our jersey's are prime." He continued, answering the unspoken question from my confused expression. He was roughly the same height as me but stocky where I was lean and probably not far off Hutch in terms of muscle mass. Kevin seemed to like keeping his black hair very short and already had a fair bit of stubble despite only being a sophomore in high school.

"Alright if that's sorted then we gotta go. We'll see you at practice if not before Humphrey." Hutch said as the two moved away. "Later H." Kevin called as they walked down the corridor and around the corner, disappearing from sight. I figured it must be getting close to time and sure enough a moment later I heard the first bell ring, the corridors filling with students quickly after that. Just as I was about to go into the class and take my seat I saw Kate, Abby and Chris round the corner with Kate leading the way and Abby and Chris behind, chatting about something. I raised an eyebrow seeing Chris with them, not to mention chatting away with Abby since normally conversation between members of the two groups being minimal except for myself.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate's attention was pulled away from the homework conversation of the two behind her as she looked up and saw Humphrey waiting outside their Science classroom. She smiled and waved a little when she caught his eye, which he mimicked as he waited for them to arrive, a brief exchange of 'heys' ensuing before they all headed inside together and took their seats.

"So how come you weren't out the front this morning? Didn't want to see us?" Abby said in a teasing tone as she grinned at Humphrey who looked a little distressed as he shook his head quickly.

"No, not at all. I just got here early and by the time I got to my locker and finished talking with Hutch and Kev I didn't think I'd have time to get back to the front so I came here instead." He explained hurriedly, looking confused when Kate and the others burst out laughing at him. After a bit he seemed to realise that they'd been pulling his leg and gave them an annoyed look before smiling along with them.

"Alright quiet down." The teacher said loudly as she entered the room. Kate and the others brought themselves under control as they got their things out for class. The teacher gave them a brief explanation of the topic before directing them to read a number of pages from the textbook and answer a few questions. Kate read the pages quickly and set about answering the questions seriously, not wanting to get slammed with any additional homework by not finishing in time. She noticed as she moved on to the second question that Humphrey seemed to be in a good mood as he quietly hummed to himself, reading through the pages at a much more leisurely pace than Kate had. 'I doubt he'll finish in time if he keeps that up.' She thought to herself as she returned her attention to her own work.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

Before I knew it the bell rang for lunchtime and I couldn't help but wonder where the morning had gone with both Science and Social Studies having flown by. It helped of course that the topics we'd covered in both classes were of some interest to me, particularly in Social Studies, where we'd been looking into the effects that major technological innovations had on society throughout the ages.

"I hope there's something good for lunch, I'm starving." I said to Barry as we arrived at the cafeteria and joined the queue. Kate wasn't with us since she'd made a detour to her locker but I'd decided not to since I was starving and as I had basketball all afternoon I'd need to get my sport bag after lunch so it wasn't really necessary. We ended up being the first at the table and chatted away about the weekend as we ate and the others joined us in ones and twos throughout the lunch period.

"It's a shame there's no mall or anything close by to the school, otherwise we could go and get different food on the days the cafeteria has nothing good." Brittany said as she joined the table, looking down in disappointment at today's food, which was spaghetti bolognaise that was mediocre at best.

"We'd need a car for that though so it doesn't really matter." Sam replied from across the table, also inspecting her plate with an expression that said it all. "All the same..."

"Well we all know about Humphrey's car." I'd been looking down at my plate, thinking about where I might apply for a job when I heard Abby's words, my head snapping up as I found everyone looking at me with what appeared to be a mixture of jealousy, envy and longing. I held their gazes for a moment before shrugging and looking away. 'It's not _that_ big of a deal.' I thought to myself, not to mention there wasn't a mall near enough to go at lunchtime so it didn't really matter.

 **Kate's POV:**

"I wish I had a car like that."

"It's so beautiful."

"How did you get it?"

"You're so lucky to have a license _and_ a car."

Kate watched on with a smile as the others put in their two cents about Humphrey's car, though she didn't say anything herself. Humphrey himself sat in silence as well, picking at his food for a while as the others continued talking, about what car they'd have if they could and where they'd drive. Despite the conversation having moved on Humphrey still looked down and Kate was worried that what they'd said had reminded him about his past too much.

"Kate...?" Hearing Angel say her name Kate quickly turned to look at the other girls, all of whom were looking at her in a slightly bemused way.

"What? Sorry." Kate replied, wondering what they'd asked her as heads shook all around the table. Abby let out a sigh, an amused expression on her face.

"You've been spacing out a lot lately you know Kate. Something you want to tell us?" She said in a bit of a knowing tone, raising an eyebrow at Kate as the others all turned her way expectantly except for Angel, who's eyes were flicking between Kate and Humphrey. 'She knows that _something_ is up.' Kate thought to herself as she saw Angel's concerned expression. Thankfully she was keeping quiet for now but Kate made a mental note to call her later and explain what was going on a bit. Just as Kate opened her mouth to reply to Abby however her attention was diverted as Humphrey suddenly stood up, saying something about needing to go to his locker before leaving the cafeteria in a hurry.

"Humphrey, wait..." Kate said quickly, her voice trailing off since it was clear he wasn't listening or couldn't hear her. She stood up as the others exchanged confused glances, taking the tray he'd left behind over to the disposal chute along with her own. She detoured past their table on her way out where the others were questioning if Humphrey was okay and whether or not it was something they'd said.

"I'm sure it's probably nothing but I'm gonna go check on him 'kay? I'll see you in class." She said as she grabbed her bag, the others nodding and giving her encouraging smiles as she grabbed her bag and half-ran out of the cafeteria. Humphrey was nowhere in sight but she figured he probably _was_ heading for his locker since there was a good chance that corridor would be almost deserted and he had basketball after lunch so he'd need his sports gear. Kate headed quickly in that direction and sure enough, as she rounded the corner she was just in time to see Humphrey ram his fist into the locker.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I was struggling to hold back tears as I left the cafeteria but thankfully I made it to the corridor where my locker was located before they would be denied no longer, a few drops slowly running down my face. I was sad but even more than that I was angry, half at how I'd reacted but half at what had been said earlier which I knew was wrong of me but I couldn't help it as I slammed my fist into the locker, not even feeling the impact. 'Lucky? _Me_? I love that car but I'd give it up in a second to get them back.' The thought, while I knew was true, surprised me since I never normally thought that way.

I was amazed how much I was reacting to things since starting here at Jasper High. It's not like there were more triggers here than anywhere else during my travels but something about seeing all these people with their perfect lives and happy families just set me off. After a moment I let my fist drop from the locker, letting out a deep sigh as I brought myself under control and put a stop to my runaway thoughts. 'It's not their fault, they don't know and didn't mean anything by it.' I forced the thought to sit at the front of my mind for a while, knowing that I wasn't mad at my friends. I was brought back to earth by a gentle hand on my shoulder, turning to see Kate looking up at me with eyes full of concern.

"H-Humphrey... A-are you okay?" She said hesitantly, looking into my mind as though she would be able to see my thoughts if she looked hard enough. I couldn't help but notice again how her eyes seemed to have so many layers as I nodded, a small sigh escaping my lips as I did so. She hardly seemed convinced and continued to gaze at me with that worried expression before I realised how I must look.

"Seriously Kate, I am okay. Just a little... emotional." I said, adding some conviction to my voice as I wiped a hand across my face to remove some of the traces that I'd been crying. Her concern seemed to have been abated somewhat as she gave me a small smile, rubbing my shoulder a little. We stood this way for a while before I gently removed her hand, doing my best to give a warm smile as I turned and opened my locker, quickly swapping my bags over.

"Thanks Kate, I... I appreciate the support. I'm fine now." I said, slinging my sports bag over my shoulder as I turned back to her. There was still at least five minutes left of lunch break but I wanted to get to practice before the others. "I'm gonna go early and err... clean up a little."

"Sure thing Humphrey. If you're okay then that's fine. What are friends for?" She responded and we both chuckled a little before Kate turned to head back to the cafeteria.

"Kate?" I said suddenly, stopping her in her tracks as she turned back to me, tilting her head a little in an unspoken question. "D-Don't tell the others? Please?" I asked her quietly. I was sure that they weren't the type to gossip about these things but I didn't want them knowing I was like this. I felt a surge of relief and gratitude as Kate smiled, nodded and winked, doing a little victory pose as she promised that it would be our 'little secret' as she put it.

I turned and headed off to practice, arriving several minutes early despite taking a back way to avoid running into anyone on the way. After changing I went to the sinks and washed my face a bit, looking much more like normal after a few rounds of cold water as I left the change rooms and headed into the gym. I grabbed a ball from the basket to do some warm up shooting practice before the others arrived.


	27. Chapter 27: Buzzer

**Chapter 27: Buzzer.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

The next three days seemed to fly by and before I knew it Friday morning had arrived, thankfully all but bringing the week to an end without something else reminding me of the past too brutally. I thought about that as I prepared for the day, unsure of what it was exactly that had changed and was allowing me to move past things without over-reacting but I was grateful for it nonetheless. Friday's classes seemed a little strange; one moment the seconds were ticking by agonisingly slowly and then the next we were packing up to head to our next class. I assumed that my nerves about that evening were playing with my head since I _was_ fairly nervous about playing my first game in a few hours.

"Three assignments on the same weekend..." Chris said sadly as he, Abby, Kate and I left Science class. We already had an assignment from Automotive Engineering and today we'd been hit with another two, one from Science and the other from Mathematics. I wasn't too concerned since I'd all but polished off the AE assignment already and we'd been given time in our classes today to work on the other two so I'd gotten them roughly half finished. 'An hour or so on each should be enough.' I thought to myself.

"Well at least we didn't get anything from Social." Kate said as she and I headed for our lockers and Chris and Abby turned to head for the gym to get seats for themselves and our friends for this evening's game. The Jasper Howlers, my team, was currently placed second on the ladder and would be facing the top team tonight which meant that most of the students in the school would likely show up to watch, of course only adding to my nerves.

"Catch you later guys, you got this man." Chris said to me as we turned to go our separate ways and I just smiled weakly in response.

"Yeah Humphrey, you got this." Abby pitched in and I forced myself to nod and at least look confident as I grinned.

"See you at the game guys." Kate called as we walked away towards our lockers, mostly in silence as I was deep in thought about the game and I figured Kate could see that I wasn't in a chatty mood. We arrived shortly, both of us swapping our bags for our sports ones before heading towards the gym. We ran into Brittany on the way there who turned and waited for us when she noticed us, falling into step as we drew level. She and Kate would naturally be at the game as part of the cheer leading troupe and both gave me a few words of encouragement before we separated, they heading for the girls change room and me the boys.

 **Hutch's POV:**

Hutch looked over as Humphrey entered the change room, grinning a bit along with the others at how nervous he looked. His grin widened as Humphrey looked up and greeted them with a meek 'Hey.' before beginning to get changed into his uniform. Hutch noticed that a few of the others were admiring Humphrey's physique as he removed his shirt. They'd all seen it before but even he had to admit it was still amazing to see how good a shape he was in.

"Glad you made it Humphrey, we were beginning to think you'd wimped out." Kevin said with a laugh, stepping forwards and giving Humphrey a friendly punch on the shoulder to try and help shake his nerves. It seemed to work a bit as Humphrey pulled on his '13' jersey and grinned back.

"Of course not. I figured I'd come play, fail spectacularly and ensure that you all never get top spot on the ladder." He joked as he and Kevin moved over to join the circle around Hutch. This comment caused a wave of friendly banter from the others as they joked about practice as well as their last game against tonight's opponents, the EJ Red Wolves. Hutch didn't join in but let them go for a while, knowing that it was certainly helping their morale to be joking around like this. A minute later he heard a knock on the door and walked over, opening it to see Coach standing there. As usual she'd been waiting for them to all arrive and change before coming in to give them a pep talk and the game plan as well as the starting lineup.

"Hey coach, come on in." Hutch said, stepping aside to let her through. He whistled sharply to get the attention of the others as coach entered before joining them in a semi-circle around her.

 **Charlie's POV:**

Charlie stepped through the door as Hutch let her in. She was a little worried about the state they'd be in given who they were facing tonight but she was relieved to see them in high spirits, standing around and joking with each other. Slightly surprising was that even Humphrey appeared to be in good spirits and was joining in given how nervous he'd seemed that morning about his first game. 'He's been playing basketball for quite a while but I guess this is his first official game ever.' She thought to herself as Hutch whistled to get everyone's attention and they formed a small group around her.

"Alright boys, there's a hell of a crowd out there and they seem eager so I want you to put on a big show tonight and send these rank one pretenders home in tears." She said, grinning at them despite the strong words. Most of them grew even more jubilant to hear about the crowd awaiting them since they all enjoyed playing at home in front of a favourable crowd but Humphrey's grin faded a little. Charlie didn't think he was the shy type but she knew that nerves could get to anyone. She made a mental note to have a word to him personally if necessary but she had a feeling that after watching the others from the bench for a little bit he'd be itching to get onto the court, all fears forgotten.

"So here's the starting lineup and I'll be making changes as necessary." She said, pulling out a small whiteboard and showing it to them. It showed the starters would be: Hutch - centre, Kevin - power forward, James - small forward, Thomas - shooting guard and Kyle - point guard. This was their usual starting lineup and left Humphrey, Jeff, Bryan and Collin on the bench.

"There won't be any specific game plan tonight, I'll leave it to you to decide the plays." She continued, turning to Kyle as she addressed him before returning her gaze to the team at large.

"That's it, let's get out there and get warmed up." She finished, stepping aside as Hutch lead the team out onto the court.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

The team fell into step, following Hutch single file as we entered the gymnasium with Charlie behind me, bringing up the rear. The noise from the students assembled in the stands grew with each step, growing to a clamour as we arrived, applause raining down as we jogged onto the court. I looked around in amazement at what the now familiar gym had become, with the regular seating on one side of the court mirrored by a temporary set up on the other side, providing around 200 seats in total, many of which were filled with more students streaming in. I followed the others towards our end of the court as we began to warm up, noticing Kate and Brittany amongst the cheerleaders who were performing in the centre of the court. They were all excellent, perfectly in sync as they danced, much to the entertainment of the assembled student body.

The Red Wolves were already on the court, engaging in some rather lacklustre warm up exercises that likely were providing little to no benefit to them. I couldn't help but wonder if they were just that uninterested or whether they were trying to hide their true level, a common practice in street ball, where players would attack the inside all game before shooting a three right at the end to win. I shrugged the thoughts away, figuring it didn't really matter as I continued warming up, following James towards the hoop in a rebounding exercise.

Soon enough the buzzer sounded to indicate that the game was about to start and we wrapped up our warm up as the cheerleaders finished their performance to a large round of applause, moving to the side of the court opposite the team benches. Before we split up we moved into a tight circle, yelling "Howlers!" once everyone had their hand in, Hutch leading the starters onto the court as I followed the others to the bench where Charlie was waiting, having greeted the Red Wolves' coach already. I marvelled at the spectacle that the game had become, there were at least 200 students present, not including the two teams and the cheerleaders, who'd probably push that number to 250 or so. Though on a much smaller scale, the atmosphere was just like what I'd felt at the NBA game I'd been to years ago, the thought making me smile.

As the two captains shook hands and both teams prepared to begin I noticed Kate and Brittany looking my way from the other side of the court, grinning at them before the umpire's whistle dragged my attention to the game that had just begun.

 _End of the third quarter._

I slumped onto the bench with the others as the third quarter ended, breathing heavily as I took a long drink of water. I'd been nervous when Charlie had first put me in but through some miracle had managed to avoid making any undue blunders, quickly getting into my rhythm as I scored a few and assisted a few more. I thought that I was doing well but Hutch's performance had been truly stand out, we'd only played three quarters and it was all but guaranteed that he would be selected player of the game. I took a deep breath as I sat, bringing my breathing under control to try and recover as much as possible before the start of the fourth. We were up by ten, largely thanks to Hutch but the starters were all getting tired and I knew I'd likely see most of the fourth quarter in play.

Sure enough Charlie put me straight back in as play resumed and we had the ball as we went on the attack once more, trying to extend our lead to the point where they couldn't come back. I ran to the corner, catching the ball as Bryan sent it my way. I had a little space and was about to shoot when I noticed Jeff cutting inside and slung a fast bounce pass his way, giving him an easy layup that he made without a problem.

At this point our victory seemed likely but I supposed the Red Wolves realised this too as they pulled themselves together, bringing the game back and then taking the lead by 1 point with a shot in the dying seconds that I'd actually managed to tip slightly in my attempt to block it but hadn't hit enough to throw it off. Charlie called our final timeout with roughly 5 seconds remaining, putting the starters back in but choosing me over Thomas, who was too tired to be of great help in what would be the last play. I was vaguely aware that the crowd was practically screaming at this nail-biter, their chant of 'Howl-ers!' reaching new heights with every repetition as we prepared to resume play.

Kevin tossed the ball in to Kyle who saw Hutch below the hoop and flicked the ball to him in a daring pass that just got through. I ran along the left side of the three point line as Hutch jumped, attempting to make a shot but it was impossible as three defenders had closed on him, blocking any chance of a shot. As he fell back he noticed me on the outside, wide open and sent the ball my way in a wild pass that was way off. 'There's no time left.' I thought as I dived for the ball, way over the line and off balance as I twisted in mid air, sending the ball skyward but having no time to see if my crazy shot had missed as gravity began dragging me back to earth.

I'd been sprinting to catch Hutch's pass and hadn't had time to slow myself as I hit the ground, barely feeling the impact from the adrenaline in my system as I crashed into the cheerleaders who were sitting there and had no time to react. I heard the buzzer sound, signalling the end of the game but it was drowned out almost as soon as it began by what seemed like an explosion of noise as I came to a stop. After a moment I looked up, expecting to see the angry faces of the cheerleaders that I'd practically fly tackled but instead I was surprised everyone within reach hugged me, all of them smiling and cheering.

"I guess... we won?" I said to no one in particular as I smiled.

 **A/N: Sorry this is so late, it's just been one thing after another recently. Hope you enjoyed it. Although if you don't like basketball... review and tell me so. Should be back to a more regular schedule now I hope.**


	28. Chapter 28: Close

**Chapter 28: Close.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

My grin broadened as Hutch ran over, practically ripping my arm off as he hauled me up and pulled me into a bear hug. The rest of the team piled on and I laughed and celebrated with them as the cheerleaders ran onto the court, beginning their celebratory performance. I could see that my teammates were saying things to me but I could barely hear their voices over the clamor of the music playing over the sound system and the cheering crowd. 'I knew that students here got behind the teams but this is crazy...' I thought to myself as I shook my head in disbelief at all that was happening.

The celebrations continued for another minute or two before people began to calm down a bit as we lined up with the other team, thanking each other and shaking hands. That done we headed towards the change rooms I sped up a little to catch Hutch.

"Is it like this every game?" I said a little incredulously, gesturing around us to the crowds of students who were now beginning to disperse as the cheerleaders finished up their final routine. Hutch chuckled a little as we moved through the doors into the change room, the sounds from the gym muffled as the door closed to be replaced by the jubilant chatter of my teammates.

"Haha, not every game and certainly only when we win. This was a big turnout since it was against the top team and everyone had high energy being such a close one." Hutch replied. I thought about showering as I pulled off my jersey but figured it could wait until I got home, dragging on my other shirt and immediately doubting the decision as it clung tightly to my skin.

"Still man, how'd you make that shot? I thought the pass was gone the moment I threw it." Hutch continued.

I laughed in response as a few others came over, echoing the question. "You know it was a massive fluke. I just remember thinking desperately that there was no time and threw the ball in the vague direction of where I thought the basket might be." I said with a shrug, smiling despite myself. Kevin laughed as he slapped my shoulder, the rest shaking their heads in disbelief.

"Well either way it was amazing man. You won the game for us." He said, causing me to frown as I slung my bag over my shoulder and joined them in heading for the exit.

"It was a lucky shot at the right time but anyone would've had just as much chance of it as me. Besides if you guys hadn't played so well for the rest of the game-"

"Come off it. Don't be so modest." Kevin said loudly, cutting me off as we turned to go our separate ways to find our lockers, mine being in a separate part of the school than theirs. The corridors were packed with students on their way out from the gym, many of them recognising me as I made my way through and clapping my back as they spoke words of congratulations. It made me smile but I was a little uncomfortable with all the attention.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate quickly said goodbye to Brittany and the others before hurrying out of the change room once she was changed, heading for her locker. She was moving quicker than the flow of students in an attempt to catch Humphrey but was struggling to pass through the packed corridors. 'If only Humphrey was here.' She thought with a smile, giggling a little as the irony of it hit her. If he _were_ here she would be having a much easier time getting through since the he always found a way to either slide through the crowds or have them part around him, but if he were here she wouldn't be in a hurry and thus wouldn't need him to help her get through easier.

She eventually made it to the hallway where her and Humphrey's lockers were located, letting out a small sigh of relief as she saw him at his locker meaning she hadn't missed him.

"Humphrey!" She called out as she walked over with a smile. Her shout caught his attention and he turned to see who it was, grinning when he saw her. As he turned to face her she noticed that his shirt was clinging tightly to his skin, totally putting his ripped upper body on display which she appreciated, walking over to him and giving him a hug which seemed to surprise him but he recovered after a split-second, returning the hug.

"Congrats on your win." She said, releasing him after a moment before turning to her own locker to grab her other bag.

"Hey Kate, thanks. Talk about a lucky shot huh?" He replied as he closed his locker, walking over and grabbing Kate's school bag out of her locker and slinging it over his shoulder to join his two with a smile.

"I saw your performance, you guys killed it." He added.

"Thanks. It's nice to hear that sometimes. You were the star of the show. And you know you don't have to carry my bag." Kate said with a small smile, closing her locker and falling into step with him as they headed towards the front of the school.

"I know, but let me anyway. We're headed in the same direction." He replied. Kate couldn't help but stare a little as he rolled his shoulders to shift the bags into a more comfortable position, the small motion causing the rest of his muscles to ripple in a way she liked.

"Not to mention I owe you for the other day." He added after a moment and she assumed he meant covering for him when he'd reacted at lunch time, causing her to frown slightly.

"Humphrey, wait." She said, catching his arm and stopping him. Or perhaps she should say encouraging him to stop, since she had little doubt he could just continue walking and drag her along without much bother if he wanted.

"Firstly, you don't owe me for that. We're friends and that's what friends do for each other. And secondly, the day we met you literally saved me from... well I won't say it but you know." She lectured, her expression, like her feelings, a mixture of anger and concern that he might not see them as being as close as she felt they were.

He returned her gaze as they stood in the empty hallway, looking into her eyes as though searching for what to say. She noticed once more as they looked at each other how his gaze seemed so piercing, as though there was nothing she could hide that he wouldn't see, the white-blue coloring almost glowing like a shard of ice in the winter sun. After a moment he grinned, a glint of humor in his eyes.

"Well then isn't this just what friends do for each other?" He asked, gesturing to her bag a little as he spoke.

"As for what happened back when we met, if I recall correctly _you_ were the one doing all the work." There was a little smugness in his tone as he knew he was on a winner and Kate couldn't help but smile, letting go of his arm. After a moment she looked back up at him with a fierce expression.

"Better be careful then, or you'll be next." She said with a threatening tone. Humphrey held up his hands in a surrendering gesture, crouching a little in a scared act.

"Please, anything but that?" He replied, causing Kate to raise an eyebrow at him with a sly smile.

"Anything?" She asked, both of them breaking into laughter a moment later.

 **Garth's POV:**

Garth smiled as he leafed through the wad of notes in his hand, ignoring their previous owner who lay on the floor before him, clutching his stomach and retching in pain. 'This was way too easy.' Garth thought to himself as he finished counting and pocketed the cash, pulling out his phone to dial up his father.

"We... had a... deal." The captain of the Red Wolves hissed from the floor, his voice tense as he struggled to get the words out through the pain. Garth paused for a moment at his words, his finger hovering over the call button of his phone as he frowned thoughtfully.

"True. I paid you and you agreed to win the game by any means necessary." Garth replied eventually, his voice calm as though he were discussing tomorrow's weather. The captain looked up at him spitefully as Garth replied, his eyes narrow as he breathed heavily.

"What the hell? I did what I could. Who the hell could've made that shot." He snapped at Garth before screaming in pain as he received a boot to the face, his head snapping back and blood spurting from his now broken nose.

"True..." Garth said slowly, clicking his tongue in annoyance at the blood on his boot. After taking a moment to carefully wipe it off using his victim's shirt Garth continued, "But you didn't do enough, did you? Almost isn't good enough!"

Garth was growing angrier as he spoke, his voice rising to a yell as he stalked back over to the scrap on the floor who shrunk back.

"You. Would've. Won. If. Not. For. God. Damn. Humphrey." Garth yelled, emphasising each word by slamming his boot into the captain's stomach. Just the thought of that smug bastard filled him with rage, not mention Kate. Garth felt like screaming every time he even thought about her. He hated her with a passion that was only made worse by the fact he thought she was beautiful.

"God damn it!"

'Well if my father keeps his word then it'll be fine.' He thought to himself as he calmed down a little. He looked down to see that his kicking bag had coughed up a fair bit of blood.

"You're pathetic. Clean yourself up and if I hear you told anyone about this you'll suffer far worse." Garth said, pulling a towel from the nearby shelving and tossing it onto the floor next to him before turning to leave. Making sure to close the door behind him, Garth stepped out of the change room of the sauna and made his way towards the front door, ignoring the old man who worked the counter and did likewise. He never seemed to notice anything, although maybe that was intentional. Garth had never seen even a single customer enter this place in the numerous times that he'd visited but it didn't really matter since it was just a front and a convenient place to hold talks without unwanted listeners.

As he stepped outside Garth shivered slightly, a cold breeze was blowing and with the sun already below the mountains the temperature was dropping fast.

"Typical JC summer." He muttered, pulling his varsity jacket a little tighter as he walked across the street to the waiting car and got into the back seat. He was furious that his father hadn't pulled some strings to get him his license early, even if he had provided him a personal driver. 'I've got two cars for crying out loud.' Garth thought bitterly as the driver put the black sedan in gear and headed off. Remembering the call he never made, Garth pulled out his phone, bringing up his contacts and hitting call.

A moment later the phone was answered, but rather than hearing a response Garth was met with a stretching silence that his father always began calls with. His father believed he was important enough that he didn't need to say anything, let alone answer at all sometimes.

"Hey Dad, it's me." Garth began after a moment, hearing a soft grunt from the other end of the line that he took as a sign to continue.

 _Ten minutes later._

Garth let out a sigh as he hung up the phone, let his head rest against the seat as he thought about it. He couldn't say for certain whether his father was pleased or not but he hadn't been angry so that counted as a win.

"Congratulations." The driver said, breaking the silence finally. He had a somewhat sassy smile on his face and Garth thought he could detect a note of dry amusement in his voice but the man would never admit it so he said nothing, just nodding before returning his attention to the passing city. His thoughts were on plans for the future and before he realised it they were getting close to the high rise where he lived, the 35 storey apartment complex dominating its surrounds.

As they got closer Garth was suddenly filled with an overwhelming desire not to go there, the thought of spending the evening in the luxurious yet drab apartments full of gangsters hardly enticing.

"No. I don't want to go home. Take me..." Garth began to say, his voice trailing off as he realised he had no idea where he wanted to go, just not home. After thinking for a moment it came to him.

"Take me to Brittany's." He concluded finally, the statement causing the driver to raise his eyebrows at Garth in the rear-view mirror.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? If your father..." He began in a cautious tone but was cut short as Garth interrupted him.

"He won't."

The flat refusal was something they both understood. Despite how risky it was to keep it a secret, they were both invested and would face severe punishment if caught out. Garth had spent quite a bit of time with her, something they'd both kept completely secret in public for fear of repercussions from those they knew.

"Fine." The driver snapped after a long moment of matched stares, clearly not happy with the idea as he made a turn and began heading towards west JC.

 **A/N: Hey guys, I know I said I'd have more chapters for you and I'm sorry, if it's not one thing it's another at the moment and writer's block doesn't help. Last chapter was too much basketball for a lot of you I know so I hope you like this one. It was important to the plot so bear with it and that'll be it for basketball anyway.**

 **Also I haven't forgotten about Allegiance and hopefully I'll have a chapter for that as well soon. Thanks again for the continued support and please let me know how I can make this story better for you all.**


	29. Chapter 29: Adam who?

**A/N: I know, I know, it's been too long. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Next one is well on the way, should be up on Friday.**

 **Chapter 29: Adam who?**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

Kate and I joked back and forth as we headed for the entrance of the school, having an easier time of it than earlier since most of the students had already left.

"Ah crap." Kate muttered suddenly as we left the main doors, looking out across a now all but deserted car park. I turned to her in surprise, wondering what the problem was. 'Left something in her locker or something?' I thought to myself as I watched her searching in her bag for something.

"What's wrong?" I asked aloud. Kate turned to me, giving a shaky laugh.

"I forgot my bus pass back in my locker." She said with a small sigh, turning to look back towards the school with a forlorn expression.

"I never usually need it but Lily is going to a friend's house tonight so I said I'd catch the bus..." Kate paused for a second as she pulled out her phone to check the time, "... which I'm going to have missed by the time I go back for it." She finished in a tired voice, turning to look at me for a moment with a curious expression before very deliberately looking away again. 'It's so obvious what she's thinking.' I thought to myself as I just stood there with an amused grin and wondered how long it would be before she gave in.

The seconds rolled by and I was surprised how stubborn she was being about the issue, it wasn't like she was asking me to drive her to Montréal. It seemed that this stalemate wasn't about to end any time soon since I figured she knew what I was trying to do so I decided to play with her a bit, letting out a dramatic sigh and looking around.

"If _only_ there was some other way for you to get home..." I said in a voice that was practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Some kind of alternative transport, like a train, or a bike? Maybe a privately owned and operated vehicle? Kind of like a bus, but much smaller and better looking..." I said, pretending to be deep in thought.

"Nah, that's crazy. Right? Mini bus..." I trailed off, shaking my head as though disappointed in myself for the idea.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate had to grin as Humphrey spoke. She knew exactly what he was trying to do, both before when he'd waiting silently with that smug grin and now as he wound her up but she refused to give in. Originally it was because she felt bad about asking him to give her a lift _again._ After all he wasn't her chauffeur, although she really wouldn't mind a chauffeur like him, especially in his car. Seeing how he was acting however she didn't feel bad at all and simply didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"Well that sucks huh?" He said a moment later, turning with a chuckle and walking down the steps and towards the where his car was parked. Kate watched for a minute, wondering in a second of doubt whether or not he was actually about to just leave her there but then she realized that he was still carrying her sports bag and ran over to catch up to him.

"I thought you had a bus to catch?" He asked without turning as she caught up with him, the same smug grin from earlier on his face. They arrived at his car and Kate faced him, hands on her hips in a sassy pose as she mirrored his smug grin, causing his to fade a little as he opened the trunk.

"Well I do but you've still got my bag." She replied.

"Ah so I do. I guess you're stuck with me until you get it back." Humphrey placed the three bags into the trunk and gestured for her to do the same with her school bag as they both broke out laughing. Kate placed her bag in with the others and walked around to the passenger side of the car, smiling as she slid into the seat. Kate sat in silence for a while, vaguely listening to the radio as Humphrey drove when she heard her phone give a little ' _bling_ ', indicating that she had a message as she pulled it out and saw that it was from Sam.

 _S_ : Hey K party at our 2moro U comin?

Kate smiled at the message, mostly because of the thought of a party, since any time they got together at Sam and Angel's it was always a good time but also at how little Sam paid attention to grammar when she texted.

 _K_ : Hey Sam sounds great. I will ask my parents but it should be fine.

 _S_ : B here at 7 or so can U invite H as well?

 _K_ : Will do. Who else is going?

 _S_ : every1 C U then

Kate put her phone away with a smile, turning to Humphrey who glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, amused smile on his face.

"Someone's in a good mood." He said in a light tone, returning his attention to the road as the light turned green as Kate chuckled a little.

"Well yeah I guess. There's a party at Sam and Angel's tomorrow night. You'll be there right? Sam said she wanted you to be there." Kate replied.

"Well in that case how can I refuse?" Humphrey said with a smile. Kate was about to reply when something on the radio caught her attention and she leaned over to turn it up a little just in time to hear, ' _... number one on the charts again this week, that was Adele with "Rolling in the Deep". And now as always we've got you covered with the latest tracks. This one was released today, "Move it like Jagger" from Indigo 6 coming through right now._ '

"Oh my god I love Indigo 6." Kate said, giving a little squeal. It looked like Humphrey had something to say but at that moment the song started playing and he kept silent to let her listen.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I nodded my head along with the beat, humming the tune quietly to myself as I drove. I was careful not to hum too loud since Kate had never heard the song before and was clearly a fan as she danced along to the song. I couldn't help but watch her every now and then, admiring her as she danced and then began to sing along with the final chorus, with which I joined in. We were just arriving at Jasper Heights estate as the song finished and Kate turned the radio back down a little, turning to me with a slightly surprised expression.

"Wow Humphrey, I didn't know you could sing so well." Kate said as I drove slowly past the expensive house, making me frown a little as I remembered something that had happened the previous year.

"You too?" I replied a tad incredulously. "Adam told me the same thing but I'm really not that good. I think you sound much better than me." I added, seeing Kate blush a little and smile at the compliment.

"You really think so?" She asked me in a quiet voice and I nodded in response. "But you _are_ a good singer Humphrey. I'm not just saying that." She added in a firm tone to which I just shrugged and we fell into a thoughtful silence for a while.

"So I take it you're a fan of their music?" I asked after a bit, my voice sounding strangely loud after the silence as I pulled up to Kate's front gate which began to open after a moment.

"Ever since I heard ' _Wake up._ ' way back when." Kate said as she nodded. I pulled up out the front of her house where I had the first time I'd dropped her home, parking the car and turning to her in time to see her face through a range of emotions as a thought struck her. Eventually she settled on disbelief as she looked at me.

"Humphrey... When you said 'Adam told you the same thing'... You didn't mean..." She asked haltingly, her face almost looking as though she wanted me to say 'No, of course not.' I tilted my head at her, confused about what she was asking as Kate took a deep breath before asking the question.

"Who were you talking about?" She said finally. I didn't really get what she was so worked up about though as I answered with a shrug.

"His name was Adam, never found out his last name. I met him in Las Vegas last year when he hit me with his car..." I said, chuckling slightly at the memory as I told Kate the story.

 _Flashback, 2010, Las Vegas._

The 'safe to walk' light turned green and I stepped out onto the road, making it about half way across before I heard the scream of tires, looking up just in time to see a car rushing towards me. I had no time to think and just dived to the side but was too slow to avoid the car completely, rolling across the hood and hitting the side of the windscreen before falling and hitting the asphalt on my back with a thud. I closed my eyes and twisted slightly in pain, letting out a groan as I heard doors open and at least one person get out of the car, rushing over to me.

"Jesus! I'm so sorry." I heard a panicked voice and opened my eyes to see a man standing over me, concern and panic all over his face as he knelt beside me. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he saw I was alive and conscious, repeating himself.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

I groaned once more as I took his offered hand, hauling myself with his help into a sitting position and feeling pain all over my body, particularly in my back and ribs. I knew I'd like have severe bruising if I was lucky and multiple fractures if I wasn't but the pain didn't feel too bad so I was hopeful as I took in the man who'd hit me. He was fairly young looking, maybe in his thirties somewhere with a short black hair and tattoos all over his arms.

"I'm alright I think." I said after a moment, contradicting that a bit as I twisted my back and yelped in pain, grimacing as it swelled and then returned to a dull ache. He could clearly see that I was hurt and took my arms, helping me to my feet and into the passenger seat in his car.

"We need to get you to a hospital." He said as he got in as well and began to drive, every bump in the road causing a new wave of pain. I closed my eyes as he drove, trying to mentally suppress the pain and eventually fell asleep.

 **Adam's POV:**

Adam pulled into a park near the entrance to the hospital, a wave of fear washing over him as he turned off the car and looked over to see that the boy in the passenger seat had his eyes closed. After a moment of intense panic he saw his chest move a little and realised he was just sleeping as he quickly leaned over, shaking his shoulder gently to try and wake him.

"Hey, wake up, we've arrived at the hospital." Adam said gently. The boy's eyes opened and he sat up slowly, looking like he regretted it as he grimaced in pain. He reached for the door handle as Adam got out, running around to his side to help him out and into the hospital.

 _An hour later._

Adam sighed, hanging up the phone and turning to head back towards the hospital room where the boy he'd hit, Humphrey he said his name was, was waiting to get the results from his scans. He'd stepped out to call his manager and explain the situation since he was now very late and after it had been firmly established that he hadn't murdered someone he'd been grilled for the last ten minutes about being late and allowing this to happen.

As he returned to the room he smiled at Humphrey, who was sitting on the bed as the nurse applied the last of the bandages to his torso and arms, leaving him looking like he was half way through preparing a mummy costume for Halloween. The doctors had reassured him when they'd inspected his injuries that it was likely just heavy bruising and that there didn't seem to be any internal injuries or broken bones but they'd taken a full set of x-rays and a CAT scan just to be sure.

"Hey Adam. How'd they take it?" Humphrey asked, grinning as though he knew exactly how it had gone.

"Fine really. Just got a grilling about being organised so that things like this don't happen." He replied with a sigh. Adam had already explained how he'd been late to a recording session and had been in a hurry, leading to the circumstances of the incident.

"More importantly, how're you feeling? Any news back?" He added the questions on after a moment, moving back to the real issue at hand.

"You just missed the doc, he said that- ..." Humphrey paused as the nurse announced that she was finished and that he could go when he was ready, both he and Humphrey thanking her as she took her leave.

"... He said that I was fine, just a case of heavy bruising. He also gave me some painkillers which have really taken the edge off." Humphrey continued, Adam moving over to help him get his shirt back on since he couldn't lift his arms properly in the bandages.


	30. Chapter 30: Perish the thought

**A/N: Not much to say but please enjoy and leave feedback. I really do want to know what improvements I can make. See you in the next one.**

 **Chapter 30: Perish the thought.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

 _Flashback continued._

I slid myself into my shirt, grateful for Adam's help since the painkillers took the edge of the pain, reducing it to a dull ache but excessive movement would still cause spikes of fresh pain. I stood up now that I was dressed and we headed out of the room, Adam walking beside me as I walked slowly to avoid sudden movement.

"So Humphrey, are you sure there's no one you want me to call? Or I can drop you home?" Adam asked me, concern in his voice as I shook my head at his first question and chuckled a little at the second.

"Unless you feel like driving to Canada I don't think that's really an option. I'm travelling that way slowly, probably via the North East coast." I replied, explaining what my current plan was, although it was just as likely to change as not.

"By yourself? What are you, fourteen?" Adam said, looking shocked as was the usual reaction I got when I told people about my travels. I knew it wasn't exactly the normal thing for someone my age to do but I didn't think it was such a big deal. By the time we were walking out the front entrance of the hospital he seemed to have overcome his shock.

"I admit I'd feel bad about you being alone after what happened, even if the doctor said that you were fine. Why not come with me to the studio? You can see music in the making." He continued after a moment and I had to admit, the idea seemed like fun so I nodded since I was in no real rush to move on from Nevada just yet. We walked over to his car and got in, listening to the radio as we headed for the studio and talking about his band, which intrigued me.

 **Adam's POV:**

"So are you guys famous?" Humphrey asked bluntly with a smile, no doubt wondering how'd he'd answer. Adam had to admit he wasn't sure what to say, this was perhaps the first person he'd even met in many years who genuinely had no idea who he was. He'd mentioned that he was the lead singer for his band back at the hospital but after hearing the name of the band Humphrey had given no real reaction. 'He really is an odd one.' Adam thought to himself.

"Well I don't know about that, we've been fortunate enough to do well recently." He said aloud after a moment, trying to be vague about the issue since it seemed way to crass to say that they were famous or that he was possibly the only person in America who'd never heard of Maroon 5. Humphrey just laughed at that, nodding to himself contently as he looked out the window.

After a moment the radio caught his attention and Adam watched as he turned it up, smiling as he confirmed the song that was playing, which happened to be ' _Cooler than Me_ ' by Mike Posner that had been hitting hot lists all over the country recently. Humphrey began to sing along as they drove and he had to admit, the boy had an excellent voice and talent. 'He could be a great singer if he wanted.' Adam thought to himself, wondering if Humphrey had any interest in becoming a musician as he joined in and they sang along with the song. They had just arrived at the studio as the song ended and they both laughed as Adam put his window down so that the security guard could see who he was, driving on once more as they were waved through.

"You've got a talent for singing there Humphrey. Have you had any training?" He asked him as he pulled into a park and they got out of the car.

"At singing? No. I'm not all that much though." Humphrey replied modestly, looking a little happy at the compliment despite his words as they entered the building and went upstairs.

"You're too modest, you're already good enough to make songs. A little training and practice could have you at the top level." Adam insisted, nodding a greeting to the receptionist as they passed her and leading Humphrey down the hallways to where their room was.

"I'm not being modest." Humphrey said as they walked, pouting a little in a immature way that made Adam laugh. He had to admit that talking with Humphrey, who acted so mature, was a little disconcerting and it was refreshing to see him act his age a bit more.

 _End flashback._

 **Kate's POV:**

"So anyway after that I hung around in the studio with them for a while, they ordered takeaway and not long after we finished eating I left. I'm glad to see they're still making music, must still be doing well enough." Humphrey said as he finished recounting the event. Kate had sat through the whole thing in a state of disbelief and if she didn't know what she did about Humphrey's unusual past she would've been convinced he was lying. She had to admit it was just like Humphrey to meet with one of the most famous bands in the world and not even know who they were even after this much time.

"Doing well enough? Humphrey, even when you met them... I don't want to say anything bad but what Adam said wasn't even modesty any more, more like a complete lie. Indigo 6 is one of the most famous bands in the world." Kate explained to him a little cautiously as they got out of the car and walked around to the trunk, which Humphrey opened with a chuckle.

"You know I kind of had a feeling? Adam seems like a good guy and I don't know if I wouldn't have said something similar in that situation." He replied, and Kate smiled as well, realising that he was right in that it wasn't an easy question to answer. 'At least not without sounding like a total asshole.' Kate thought to herself with a small giggle as she pulled her bags from the car.

"Thanks for the lift Humphrey, you saved me. We'll swing by yours at about 10 to 7 tomorrow night?" Kate said, turning to Humphrey as he closed the trunk.

"No worries Kate, sounds good. See you then yeah?" He said with a smile, sounding really tired all of a sudden. Kate was exhausted as well and now that she saw how Humphrey looked it hit her all at once and she let out a yawn.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

Kate let out a yawn and I couldn't help it, I had to yawn as well, causing us both to laugh as I suddenly realising how tired I was, saying goodbye to Kate and getting back into the car. It was already running so I put it into gear and pulled out, heading back down the drive and heading towards home. As I drove I thought about doing some homework tonight to get it done but I decided against it since all I wanted was dinner, a shower and then sleep. 'It'll take me twice as long to finish my work if I'm this hungry and tired anyway...' I thought to myself.

I woke slowly on Saturday morning, the music from my alarm taking longer than usual to penetrate my conscious and drag me from my slumber. Eventually I awoke fully, shutting off the alarm and lying in bed for a moment longer, considering the day ahead. I knew I had a lot I wanted to get done today and was grateful for my habit of getting up at the same time, regardless of what day it was, since if I slept in I'd never finish it all. Once I'd gone through a mental checklist of my tasks I dragged myself from the bed, pulling on some clothes and shoes before slipping out of the house for a morning run.

I took my usual course around the paddocks adjacent to Charlie's house, able to go a little faster now than when I first started. My breath fogged up in the fresh morning air as I ran and thought more about the previous day, going over the day's school and the game which made me smile.

"Better take it easy after yesterday..." I muttered to myself, slowing down a little. I knew Charlie would all but murder me if I injured myself by training too hard the day after a game so I took it easy, arriving back at the house a little later than I would've normally. As I entered the kitchen I saw Charlie sitting at the table with a coffee. She smiled at me as I entered, gesturing to the kitchen where a pot of coffee was waiting for me. I was grateful and poured myself a mug, joining her at the table where she frowned at me, no doubt figuring where I'd been.

"You should be resting. There's no need to exercise _every_ day you know." She scolded me, an expression of disapproval on her face. I took a sip of coffee, letting out a contented sigh as I shrugged a little, grinning somewhat guiltily.

"Come on Charlie, it was just a little run to get me going. I'm not even sore, honestly." I replied, taking another sip before standing to begin preparing breakfast, both because I was very hungry and to avoid any further lecturing.

 _Later that afternoon._

I let out a sigh of relief, stretching my arms above my head as I leaned back in my chair. Everything had taken longer than expected today but thankfully I'd been able to complete my homework assignments with time to spare before Kate was due to arrive. After breakfast I'd driven into town to a mechanic's who'd been advertising a position. The place was named 'ECT Automotive' and the owner, who'd introduced himself as Shawn, and I had chatted for most of the morning about various things as well as an interview about the job opening. He hadn't given me an answer but he'd seemed pretty impressed and I was hopeful.

After that I'd come back and set myself to the task of the multiple homework assignments we had that were due the following week. I'd thought about leaving them until Sunday but Charlie, unable to shake the teacher mentality had started pressuring me and I'd given in fairly quickly, realizing that she was right. I looked over at my clock as I packed away my school things, a little surprised to see that it was already 5:30.

"Better have some food then start getting ready..." I said aloud to myself, heading down to the kitchen to find something to cook for Charlie and myself.

 **Kate's POV:**

 _6:54 pm._

They were a little behind schedule but Kate wasn't too concerned as she knocked on the door at the address Humphrey had given her, hearing the sounds of movement inside as she waited. A moment later the door opened and Humphrey appeared before her, a grin on his face as he looked at her. As she returned his smile she noticed that they were dressed very similarly, she in tight jeans, black boots, a tight white shirt and a leather jacket. He, on the other hand, had some old-school, high top sneakers, slightly looser jeans that were fashionably ripped and a light blue collared shirt under a white hoodie. Kate raised an eyebrow at him as she looked at the hoodie, which had a Indigo 6 logo on the front and several signatures.

"Hey Kate. You look good." Kate's smile broadened at the compliment and she blushed a little. She knew why but there was something about hearing things like that from him that made her happier than hearing it from others. 'I definitely have a crush on him.' She thought to herself as she laughed.

"Thanks Humphrey, you're looking great yourself. But be careful, people might start thinking that we're friends." She replied. A shocked expression came onto his face and he looked around for who might be listening in mock fear.

"Us? Perish the thought." Kate giggled a bit before remembering what she'd wanted to say earlier.

"By the way Humphrey, that jumper... Are you sure you want to wear it?" She asked him, suspecting that the signatures on it were from the actual band members and not just a reproduction. "Isn't it worth a lot?"

Humphrey looked down at the jumper with a smile, chuckling a little. "Talking with you yesterday reminded me of it. I guess it has a lot of sentimental value to me, but if I never wear it, what's the point?" He said after a moment and Kate nodded, seeing sense in what he was saying and noting that Humphrey didn't really have the same mentality about things with value as others. If he had a use for something, he would use it, regardless of its value. Sure he'd look after it but all the same, most people would've framed a jumper like that be she supposed that might've been the reason why he had all these amazing experiences.

"Alright, you ready to go?"

 **Humphrey's POV:**

"Sure am." I replied, calling out to Charlie to tell her I was leaving and that I'd probably be home late. She called back something about being safe and I chuckled as I closed the door and followed Kate over to the car, getting into the back with her. Like the last time I'd seen the car I had a strangely familiar sense about the sleek, luxurious black sedan and after a moment it hit me.

"Good evening Humphrey." Silas said from the driver's seat as he pulled the car out of the driveway and headed off down the road.

"Hello Silas, thanks for the lift." I replied, to which he shook his head with a small smile.

"Please, if you're to thank anyone then it should be Miss Kate or her parents." He said, attempting to redirect my thanks.

"Of course I will thank them as well, but you're the one here driving me aren't you?" I returned with a triumphant smile, causing him to smile wider, shrugging a little as he returned his attention to the road. "Speaking of, this car... It wouldn't be a Chrysler SRT 8 would it?" I added after a moment.

"Yes it is actually, you clearly know your cars." He replied and I nodded thoughtfully, my suspicion confirmed. Kate was looking at me with a confused expression, no doubt wondering why I'd brought it up. 'I'll have to ask Winston about it when I see him next time.' I thought to myself as I gave Kate a 'never mind' gesture.


	31. Chapter 31: Surprise

**Chapter 31: Surprise.**

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate and Humphrey chatted away about what they'd done during the day for a while and before Kate knew it Silas was pulling up out the front of Sam and Angel's house. She and Humphrey thanked Silas as they got out of the car and he reminded her of her curfew to which she promised she'd keep. The party was clearly already in full swing as she and Humphrey approached the front door, the muffled sounds of music and chatter reaching their ears.

"Around 7 or so huh?" Kate said as they got to the front door, she and Humphrey sharing a laugh as he knocked. For a moment or two there was no sign that anyone had heard the door but then the music dropped a little in volume, along with the chatter. Humphrey turned to her, raising an eyebrow as the door opened, revealing Sam, who smiled broadly when she saw them.

"Finally, come on in guys." She said after they had exchanged a round of greetings, stepping back and opening the door wider to allow them to enter the house. Humphrey stood aside to let Kate enter first but Sam grabbed her arm, holding her back and gesturing for Humphrey to go ahead.

"One sec Kate. You go ahead Humphrey, everyone is down the back of the house or outside." She said slyly, leaning over to whisper to Kate, "I need to talk to you later." Humphrey gave them an amused smile as he watched the two girls whispering before going on ahead as Sam had instructed, leading the way through to the back of the house.

"So I see you didn't wa-" Humphrey began to say something but was cut off by an eruption of cheering and clapping as they arrived in the living room at the back of the house. Kate grinned at the surprise they'd planned, knowing that Sam had intentionally given her and Humphrey a later time so that they'd arrive after everyone else for this. Humphrey looked stunned as Kate and Sam moved past him to join the others.

"What is this?" He asked incredulously as everyone began to disperse back to their various groups and Hutch, Kevin and a few others came over. They all laughed at Humphrey's question, Kevin forcing a drink into Humphrey's hand before throwing an arm around his shoulders and dragging him into the crowd along with the others.

"It was going to be kind of a welcome thing for you, but after you made that miracle shot, we figured it'd be for that too." Hutch said with a smile as they moved into the crowd and Kate smiled, wondering how they'd managed to keep all this a secret from her and Humphrey. After a moment she felt a tug on her sleeve, turning to see Angel standing there with a smile and a drink for her.

"How could you not tell me?" Kate asked her as she accepted the cup and took a sip, following Angel into the other room where the other girls were.

"It seemed more fun that way. Plus you would've given it away for sure." Angel said with a giggle.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I grinned as I took a drink, letting Kevin steer me through the crowds. 'I can't believe they did this for me.' I thought as I looked around and saw that everyone seemed to be having a good time.

"You guys didn't have to..." I began but was again cut off as they laughed, Hutch slapping my back.

"But we wanted to. Just accept it dude." He said. The party went on and I had to admit that it was a really good party, not that I had much to compare it to in terms of teenage parties but I could see why Kate was excited. There was music, dancing and plenty of chatter, all helped along by drinks that flowed freely. There was also some drama, as I girl I didn't know caught her boyfriend making out with someone else, leading to a screaming match and plenty of tears.

Towards the end of the night I was sitting out the back with Chris, Barry and Rob, chatting about various things like cars, work and girls. I was surprised to learn that most of the students at our school didn't have jobs due to either the work load or due to being in the sports teams. It had just ticked over midnight when Barry and Rob announced that they were leaving.

"Together?" I joked with a smile as they said goodbye and left Chris and I alone. Almost everyone had gone at that point and it was pretty quiet in the house. I was about to suggest that we should probably head off as well when Abby came out from inside the house, her grin and manner indicating that she had drunk quite a bit, as likely had the rest of the girls.

"Come inside you two, we want some company." She said in a sultry tone as she grabbed Chris' arm. He looked at me with a grin and a suggestive expression and I just shook my head with a laugh, following them into the living room where the girls had set up the sofas and armchairs in a circle. If the amount of cups around was any indication they'd certainly had a lot to drink as we entered and they all looked up. Abby and Chris took the remaining sofa and I took a seat on the floor, leaning back against the armchair Kate was sitting in.

"~ _Hey Humphrey_ ~" Kate said in a sing-song voice as I sat down. I tilted my head back to look up at her with a grin, noticing that she, along with all the others except maybe Angel, was clearly drunk. As I returned my attention to the group I felt something on my head, moving to swap it away before I stopped, seeing that it was just Kate playing with my hair while she hummed away to herself.

"So who wants to play?" Brittany said after we'd all gotten comfortable, a sly grin on her face as she placed a bottle in the centre of the circle, everyone nodding in agreement.

"I don't get it?" I said tilting my head a bit as I looked at the bottle, wondering what was supposed to happen as they all laughed.

"It's truth or dare. You spin the bottle and ask whoever it lands on whether they want to tell the truth, in which case you ask them a question, or do a dare, and then you tell them to do something. Once they've done it, they get to spin the bottle and ask the next person." Brit explained to me.

"Oh so it's a bit like Russian Roulette?" I said, nodding my understanding. 'Sounds like fun. Probably won't hurt as much either.' I thought to myself as Sam announced that she would go first, crawling to the centre and giving the bottle a spin. Three rounds later it was Sam's turn to spin again, which she did and the bottle landed on me, making me hurriedly think of which option was better. Truth seemed easier so I went with that, realizing my mistake immediately from the looks I was getting from all the girls.

"Alright then Humphrey, truth. Do you currently have, or have you ever had a girlfriend?" She asked me, all of them leaning a little closer to hear my answer. 'That seems like two in one..." I thought to myself with a wry smile.

"Well... not exactly." I said slowly, trying to explain the situation in an understandable way. I knew that wouldn't be an acceptable answer and held up a hand to stall the question Brit had been about to ask, an indignant look on her face.

"I stayed with a family near New Orleans a while back and they had a daughter, maybe a year older than me. It was a small town with not much to do and when we were bored she would... teach me things." I explained, a blush on my face that grew stronger the more I spoke. The others looked a little shocked as the girls giggled amongst themselves and Chris gave me a look of... jealousy? I wasn't sure.

"My turn then." I said, wanted to move off the topic as soon as possible as I leaned forward, giving the bottle a spin. It landed on Abby and I looked over at her, sitting next to Chris on the sofa.

"Short straw Abby, truth or dare?" I asked her with a grin.

"Truth." She said confidently. I had a good idea of what topics were 'acceptable' by this point and played it safe, just asking if there was anyone at school that she had crush on since I knew she wasn't currently seeing anyone. She nodded with a bit of a blush and I couldn't help but glance between her and Chris, wondering if there was something there since they'd been a lot closer recently. I noticed Angel doing the same and exchanged a glance with her, both of us laughing quietly as she gave me a knowing look and a nod.

We played another few rounds before Chris and Abby excused themselves, saying they were getting more drinks and disappearing off somewhere. It was clearly a lie as they didn't come back for the rest of the night. It was Sam's turn again and as she spun the bottle I hoped it wouldn't land on me, since I'd noticed that Sam's questions were always the most embarrassing. We hadn't had a dare yet and I got the feeling that her dares would be more extreme as well. The bottle landed on Kate, who was back to playing with my hair, which I didn't really mind but she wasn't paying much attention to the game, off in her own world as Sam asked her the question.

"Hmmm... Truth or dare. Dare, dare, dare..." She said. After a moment of silence she looked up, noticing that we were all looking at her in shock.

"Wait, what?" She asked, a confused then horrified look on her face as she figured out what she'd done. The other three were all grinning but I really didn't like the feeling I was getting from the look in Sam's eyes as she looked between Kate and I. I was now the only male present and I got the sudden feeling of being ganged up on as Sam spoke.

"Then I. Dare. You... To kiss Humphrey." Everyone was silent as the words seemed to hang in the air.

"What!?" Kate and I both spoke simultaneously, looking shocked as we started at Sam. I leaned away from the armchair a little, turning to look up at Kate to see what she was thinking. I caught her eye and we looked at each other for a moment before we both blushed heavily and looked away once more. It wasn't like it would be the first time I'd kissed a girl and for any of the others I probably wouldn't have been so concerned, after all it was just a dare for a silly game but Kate was different; it had been years since I had been so close with someone and I was worried what might come of it, even if she was too drunk to remember any of this tomorrow.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate held Humphrey's gaze for a second, the heat in her cheeks rising steadily as she looked away at the others, hoping one of them would help. Sam was obviously out of the question, which meant Brittany was as well. Abby and Chris had disappeared somewhere meaning that Angel was the only one left and Kate looked at her best friend, a silent plea in her eyes. Angel just smiled and shook her head, looking between Kate and Humphrey with expectant eyes. Best friend or no she and Kate still enjoyed watching the other suffer in awkward situations like this.

"Come on Sam, isn't that a little..." Humphrey said, his tone similar to a friend mediating an argument as he tried to make them see reason. The others just laughed however, seeming to sense that they had all the advantage in this one.

"Do you _not_ want to do it Humphrey? Or maybe it's because you _do_." Brittany said, her grin widening when Humphrey just fell silent and looked down, blushing even more than before and Kate looked at him, honestly wondering which it was.

"Come on Kate, the clock's ticking. You have to do it, or suffer the consequences." Sam said to her, gesturing to Humphrey in a 'hurry up' manner. The consequences had never really been established but in her alcohol afflicted state it really did seem like she had no other choice but to do it, despite the worries flying through her mind at a mile a minute. 'What if things get awkward. Does he like me? Does he not? Can we still be friends if he doesn't? Do I like him?'

Kate continued to fret as these thoughts passed through her mind, looking down at Humphrey who was returning her gaze whilst wearing a 'I tried, it's on you now' expression. Kate had realized yesterday after he'd dropped her home that she had a major crush on him and it had been easy to see why: he was kind, funny, smart and one of the most physically attractive people she'd ever seen, in real-life or otherwise. This had only made her more confused however since it was the first way she'd felt about someone like this. Plus they were close friends and that only made it worse since she didn't want to admit it, get rejected and then lose a good friend.

Despite all of this, looking down at Humphrey now, Kate knew she wanted to kiss him. A lot. Ideally it probably wouldn't have been under these circumstances but as she looked at him, his lips practically begging her to lean in, which she started to do. Kate felt as though everything else was beginning to disappear as she got closer to Humphrey, looking into his eyes. She continued inching closer to him, leaning further off the armchair as she half expected him to stop her and say he didn't want to but Humphrey didn't move at all, just returned her gaze.

"Ah-" Kate's hand suddenly slipped off the chair as she leaned too far, falling forwards into Humphrey. Here yelp was almost immediately cut off as their lips collided softly. As she'd slipped Kate had expected it to hurt but somehow Humphrey had seen it coming, catching her shoulders at the last second and holding her up as they kissed. After a moment the tension of the fall left her and Kate closed her eyes, relaxing into the kiss as she felt like she was melting.


	32. Chapter 32: Afterparty

**Chapter 32: Afterparty.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

 _2am._

We continued chatting for a while before I noticed that everyone was beginning to nod off and checked my watch. I had to blink once or twice to focus and clear the alcohol shroud a little before I could see that it was already after 2am. At this point Sam and Brittany were already asleep on their sofa and Kate was nodding off as well, Angel and I were still more or less awake having been the least drunk of the five of us. I slowly dragged myself off the floor, stretching and yawning as Angel got up as well and walked over.

"I guess it's probably time to go. Wouldn't want to overstay my welcome." I said quietly with a grin as she walked past me, gently slapping my stomach and smiling as she passed me.

"You'd be welcome to stay but I don't think there's enough room as it is." She said apologetically, looking over at Sam and Brit. "I don't even know if Chris and Abby are still here."

"It's fine Angel, thanks. It was a great party by the way." I replied, moving to start picking up cups off the ground and tables. There would be a lot of cleaning up to do and I would've felt bad had I left without doing anything to help. Angel just smiled at me as she watched for a moment before doing the same.

"That's good to hear. It was largely for you anyway." She said, pausing as a sly grin came over her face and she moved a little closer to me, the cleaning temporarily forgotten. "So... how was it?" She asked slowly, glancing over at Kate and then back to me. I didn't answer immediately or try to stall by playing dumb since I knew exactly what she was asking. I'd noticed that she and Kate seemed to be a little closer than the others and wondered what I should say, eventually deciding to just come out with it.

"It felt..." I began slowly.

 **Angel's POV:**

Angel's smile widened as Humphrey described how he'd felt. She'd been rooting for him and Kate since about the second day she'd known him and from what Kate had told her, even her parents, who'd scared off every other potential boyfriend by reputation alone, liked Humphrey.

"Hmmm? I see." She said, raising her eyebrow and giving him a look that said it all. Humphrey just smiled sheepishly, blushing a little as he continued cleaning up quietly.

"Please don't tell the others." He said softly after a long moment without looking at her. Angel couldn't help but laugh, although she kept it quiet, surprised he was so concerned about the others finding out about how he felt. To her it almost couldn't have been more obvious how the two of them must have felt but she was closer to Kate than the others so maybe that was a little unfair.

"No promises. But..." She said slowly, pausing as he looked over at her with a hurt expression that made her smile. "If you can make sure Kate gets home okay I'll consider it." She finished and he smiled, shaking his head at her.

"I can do that." He replied, taking the cups he was holding into the kitchen before returning to the living room.

"I have a feeling her parents would kill her if she stayed the night without telling them and it's too late to call now." Angel continued, stretching and letting out a big yawn. 'That should do for now. We can clean the rest tomorrow.' She thought to herself as she surveyed the room. Humphrey walked over to Kate, gently shaking her shoulder as he said her name, trying to wake her.

"Kate, wake up. It's time to go." He said softly. Angel couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two of them, seeing how cute they were together. She was happy for her best friend, since she knew Kate was a great girl and it was about time that a guy got it together and saw that too, not that Kate made it easy for Humphrey, being so clueless about everything.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I steered Kate towards the door, holding her shoulders to keep her steady as I bid Angel goodbye and left the house. I'd been hoping that her short nap would've been enough to sober her up a little but it hadn't done squat except for re-energising her. We started walking towards Kate's house, chatting a bit in the quiet night as we moved through the suburbs.

"Come onnn..." Kate implored to me, doing her best to hold the pleading expression on her face before breaking out in a fit of giggles. I just shook my head, letting out a sigh as I turned her around to keep her walking and to prevent her from tripping. 'This is gonna take a while...' I thought to myself as Kate leaned her weight back against my hands so that I was practically holding her upright. We'd only made it two blocks and if that was any indication the forty minute walk to Kate's was going to take at least twice that.

"Kate you need to go home. Your parents will be worried. Plus you're drunk." I said slowly, adopting a tone I might use on a small child. Clearly she didn't like hearing that because she suddenly spun on the ball of her foot, an angry look on her face. It would've been impressive dexterity given the state she was in however she almost immediately overbalanced, falling backwards towards the pavement as I dived after her, worried that she'd hit her head. It was too late for me to catch her so I grabbed her arm and threw myself sideways onto the grass and pulling her along with me as she yelped in surprise.

I hit the ground, the grass doing a little to soften the impact and a moment later I felt Kate land on top of me, causing me to grunt a little. I looked up, or down depending how you look at it, to see that she was fine before letting out a sigh and slumping back onto the grass. Kate clearly thought this was all hilarious because she burst out laughing as she pulled herself up to sit on top of me, poking my chest with a finger.

"And you say I'm drunk?" She said, a smug look on her face as she laughed at me. "You're the one falling over." I couldn't even find the words to point out how she was wrong, not to mention I didn't even think it would work so I just shook my head at her. We stayed that way for a moment before getting up and continuing on in roughly the same manner as before. Kate's energy burst only lasted about half way to her house however, forcing me to pick her up and carry her on my back the rest of the way as she napped on my shoulder.

I was getting pretty tired myself as I finally trudged up to the gate at the Spencer's property, my watch showing that it was 3:14am. I looked up at the camera for a moment but nothing happened so I turned my attention to the walls on either side of the gate, eventually spotting what appeared to be an intercom button.

"Hello?" I said cautiously as I held the button down, releasing it after a moment and waiting for a reply.

Thankfully I didn't need to wait long for a response.

" _Good morning._ " Silas said through the intercom. It was hard to tell listening through the intercom but I got the sense that, from his tone, now was not the time to mess around or mince words. I took a deep breath and pressed the intercom button once more.

"Hello Silas, it's Humphrey here. I've got Kate with me." I said, getting straight to the point as politely as possible. I released the button and looked over at the camera, shifting Kate a little on my back, trying to get her to wake as well as show to Silas who we were. I felt Kate begin to stir just as the gate began to slide open, rubbing her eyes and looking around in confusion.

"Where are we?" She asked me as I started down the driveway.

"You're home silly." I replied with a laugh, tilting my head away a little to look at her. A look of realisation spread over her face as she looked around, recognising the familiar surroundings as she woke up properly.

"Want me to put you down?" I asked, still grinning at her as I walked, the gravel crunching a little under my shoes. Kate shook her head, resuming her position on my back as she rested on my shoulder.

"No. It's cold tonight and you're really warm." She said, making me chuckle as I shrugged a little, somewhat relieved that she sounded a little more sober than before. As I topped the steps to the door it opened before us to reveal Silas, who was standing there with his usual impossible to read expression. I set Kate down which made her pout a bit but she didn't say anything in front of Silas as I grinned a little nervously, opening my mouth to speak but being cut off before I could as Silas spoke.

"Good morning you two, please come inside. Mr and Mrs Spencer are waiting for you in the parlour." He said, his tone of voice giving nothing away as he stepped aside to let us in. I swallowed as I headed inside upon his suggestion, nervous on Kate's behalf that her parents were still up and waiting for her. Kate on the other hand looked downright scared as she followed me in, glancing up at Silas before looking away as she hurried inside. I felt her take hold of my sleeve as I led the way upstairs and to the right, heading to where the parlour was located.

We stopped outside the door and I turned to Kate, giving her a comforting smile and pat on the shoulder before I knocked gently on the door, opening it as I heard a muffed 'Come in.' from inside.

"Ah Humphrey, it's nice to see you again." Eve said as I entered the room slowly. She was standing up by the far wall wearing a night gown while Winston was sitting in the same armchair that he'd been in when I'd visited for dinner, still wearing a suit which surprised me. I nodded to both of them with a smile, trying to get them in a good mood for Kate's sake.

"Hello Eve. Winston. It's great to see you both again. I'm sorry for showing up unannounced like this." I said, lowering my head a little as I apologised. I was invited inside so it wasn't really necessary but I figured that it couldn't hurt either as Eve smiled kindly and Winston waved away my apology.

"Nonsense. You were bringing our daughter home, we should be thanking you. Besides, you're most welcome here anytime." He said and I thought I saw the corners of his mouth twitch up a little as he nodded to me before turning his attention to Kate, who was still half hiding behind me. He and Eve both gave her grave looks for a moment but remained silent, clearly holding back for the moment but with plenty to say.

"That means a lot to me. Thank you." I said earnestly. It had been a long time since I had ever felt like I really belonged anywhere and to hear something like that caused a surge of respect for the two adults before me to swell up in my chest.

"I hate to cut things short Humphrey but it's late and Winston and I need to talk to our daughter. I insist that you stay the night however. Silas tells me you walked here? You must be tired and there is a guest room you can use." Eve said as she walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder. At the mention of a ' _talk_ ' Kate had shrunk back even more, almost completely hidden behind me as she tightened her grip on my hoodie sleeve. I smiled at Eve as I seriously considered her offer, since I _was_ really tired and didn't fancy the long walk home after all that had happened.

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to cause trouble..." I said slowly after a moment, my voice trailing off as my unspoken question of confirmation hung in the air. Winston just nodded to me as Eve waved her hand airily, dismissing my concern and instructing Silas, who it seemed had appeared from nowhere at exactly the right moment, to prepare the guest room for me. It seemed more and more that he was impeccable however, as he told her it was already done as he had inferred that I might be staying. I thanked Kate's parents once more as I left, giving her a supportive squeeze on the shoulder as I followed Silas through the house.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble." I said once he had closed the parlour door and we began walking away. I could hear Winston saying something to Kate but couldn't make out the words through the closed door as Silas shook his head.

"There is nothing for you to apologise for Humphrey. This is not the first and will certainly not be the last late night I am faced with as butler here." He said, chuckling slightly. The guest room that I was given was in the house's left wing, on the ground floor. The layout was a little different from upstairs but it was roughly directly below Kate's room and was similarly furnished, although without any of the personal touches. I thanked Silas and he bowed a little before he left me alone, closing the door on his way out. I looked around the room and saw that there was a nice looking ensuite bathroom but was too tired to bother with a shower, pulling out my phone to message Charlie.

 _H_ : Hey Charlie, I am staying at the Spencer's tonight. Will be home tomorrow morning.

I didn't bother with too much info since I doubted she would see it until tomorrow morning anyway and once I got home I could explain. 'At least this way she won't worry if she wakes before I get back.' I thought to myself as I stripped down to my briefs and slid into the enormous bed, the alcohol in my system quickly pulling me into a deep sleep during which I dreamed about a wolf pup being scolded by its parents.


	33. Chapter 33: Hangover

**Chapter 33: Hangover.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I awoke the following morning to the familiar sounds of my alarm, looking around in confusion for a moment after I silenced it at the not so familiar surroundings. A few seconds later the shroud of sleep lifted from my mind properly and I remembered where I was, the events of the previous night coming back to me. I saw that my phone's battery was all but dead and breathed a sigh of relief that it had lasted long enough for the alarm to sound this morning as I got out of bed and headed into the ensuite bathroom to shower.

Without my toiletries there was only so much that I could do but once I was showered, dressed and had done what I could I inspected myself in the mirror, nodding as I was confident I was presentable enough for now. 'I wonder if anyone else is awake yet?' I thought to myself as I left the guest room, slowly and quietly moving through the silent house. I wasn't altogether sure what to do but found myself heading towards the kitchen and figured a coffee certainly wouldn't go amiss. 'Would they mind?' I wondered a little uncertainly as I approached but was spared of my concerns as I heard some faint sounds from the kitchen, figuring it was most likely Silas.

I knocked gently on the door before entering, my suspicions confirmed as I saw Silas at the sink, washing what appeared to be a batch of freshly picked vegetables. He looked over at me without stopping what he was doing as I entered the room, a slightly amused smile touching his face as I sat at the small bar in the middle of the room.

"Good morning Humphrey. You're up early, I trust you had a good sleep?" He said as I stretched and stifled a yawn, looking around a little and spotting an old-fashioned coffee percolator in the corner. It was a highly ornate piece that looked more like a work of art than a kitchen utensil, made entirely of crystallized glass with gold fittings.

"Morning Silas. Yeah it was fine thanks..." I replied, pausing for a moment before adding, "Mind if I make myself a coffee?" I gestured to the percolator in the corner. He followed my line of sight and chuckled a little.

"Of course but please, allow me. I couldn't allow a guest to do so themselves and besides... this machine does require some practice to be used correctly." I laughed a little and nodded my thanks, watching curiously as he began to make the coffee. He wasn't joking about needing experience to use the old machine, since each and every step seemed to require some very minute adjustments to work appropriately. Silas was clearly an expert however as in less time than it would've taken on a modern machine he placed a mug of coffee before me, the delicious aroma that it emitted making my mouth water.

"Thanks" I said as I took a small sip, sighing in satisfaction as I tasted what was undoubtedly the best coffee I'd ever had.

"My god, this is amazing." I said in an excited tone, looking up from the mug in my hands at Silas with a broad grin.

"My pleasure. It's always nice to prepare food or drinks for someone who appreciates it." He said, laughing as he returned to the vegetables. I tilted my head a bit in confusion as I took another sip, prompting Silas to explain further.

"Unfortunately Miss Kate and Miss Lily are not fans of coffee and I'm afraid that Mr. Winston has grown rather accustomed to my cooking." I nodded my understanding at the situation before Silas excused himself, heading out with a tray of food. The coffee was so good that I was too distracted to even notice Lily entering the kitchen until she spoke as she took a seat at the bar.

"Morning" She said in a sleepy voice, startling me as turned around quickly before grinning as I saw who it was. Unlike Kate's, Lily's hair was black and stood at angles that seemed almost physically impossible in the messy state that it had taken that morning. Although she bore quite the resemblance to Kate, with her hair dyed it was more difficult to tell that they were sisters, only when you studied their face could you tell that they were closely related. Lily was also smaller than Kate, not just because she was younger but in build as well.

"Good morning Lils." I said.

 **Lily's POV:**

"Lils?" She asked him in a mock insulted tone, raising an eyebrow at her sister's mega-crush who's grin faded slightly.

"Oh... I'm sorry. It just seemed right." Humphrey said, sounding contrite as his eyes asked her for forgiveness. She held him on the rope for another few moments before letting out a giggle.

"Hmmm... It's okay. I'll forgive you for now." Lily said, her light tone belied by her expression as she eyeballed Humphrey who smiled broadly.

"So did you sleep alright? You look a little bedraggled." Humphrey teased with an amused grin that grew as she gave him a look, clearly not amused by his energy so early in the morning. It was certainly true though as her hair was sticking at wild angles and Humphrey just laughed at Lily, forcing her to eventually give up on glaring at him. She began to smile a little herself and looked a little closer, taking the chance to study the boy before her.

"And _you_ , Humphrey, look ridiculously well groomed for someone who just woke up." She replied after a moment, a bit of a smirk on her face.

"You don't say... Want some OJ or something?" Humphrey offered with a grin. Lily smiled and nodded so he went and found a glass and poured her some, placing it on the bar counter in front of her. As he did so he seemed to notice something, doing a small double take and looking into her eyes. His face was quite close and Lily felt herself begin to grow a little hot.

"Y-yes?" She almost squeaked as he stared intently into her eyes. A moment after he blinked and leaned away, gently scratching his nose and blushing in apparent embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry. I was just looking at your eyes, the purple colour is amazing. I thought they were contacts but..." He explained, giving her a shrug as she let out a small sigh. It wasn't the first time someone had been interested by her eyes but she hadn't had it happen in a while and she smiled at him with a small shake of her head as she continued studying him. Even if she wouldn't admit it aloud, Lily knew that Kate liked Humphrey quite a lot and she could see why, he was definitely hot.

"So did you stay the night or something?" She asked him, taking a drink of juice as he started putting away all the now gleaming dishes. He nodded but said nothing as he moved back across the kitchen to put the juice away.

"How come?" She said, trying to prompt him to explain. She was surprised when he turned around, blushing a little as he did just that.

"Well... Kate was a little drunk and after I walked her home from the party your parents all but insisted I stay the night." He said slowly. He was smiling a little and Lily wondered if he was thinking about the previous night but she didn't get to ask as Silas chose that moment to re-enter the kitchen.

"Ah, Miss Lily. Good morning. Would you care for your usual breakfast?" Silas said, the very picture of professionalism and grace.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

 _An hour later._

I thanked Winston and Eve once more before walking down the steps from the front door and sliding into the back seat of the waiting car. Silas closed the door behind me and walked around to the driver's side, getting in and putting it in gear. I looked around the interior of the car as he drove, admiring how high-quality it all was; there was no cheap plastic and the leather and stitching work was all impeccable. I was slightly annoyed that I had forgotten to ask Winston about this car when I'd spoken to him but unfortunately there hadn't been a whole lot of opportunity for me to do so meaning I'd have to leave it until next time.

Once we arrived back at home I waved Silas goodbye and headed inside, noting that Charlie's car was absent from the garage as I walked through it towards the house proper. Just as I was opening the door my phone rang and I answered it to find that it was Chris on the other end.

" _Hey buddy, it's Chris._ "

"Oh hey man, how's it going?" I replied, grinning as I recognized his voice. I used my shoulder to hold the phone to my ear as I entered the house, heading up to my room with the intention of showering and changing.

" _Okay... Actually better than okay. Except for a hangover._ "

"Hahaha well I think there'll be plenty of that going around today. So what happened last night?" I asked him casually. I'd been planning on waiting until school tomorrow but now was as good as ever.

" _What do you mean?_ "

"You and Abby man. Where'd you go?" I prompted him, a grin creeping onto my face as he hesitated and I could almost see him blushing.

" _Oh that... It was good man. We found some privacy and had some fun._ "

"Haha you sly dog! How long has that been going on?" I laughed as he admitted it. I was only slightly surprised that there was something there but I knew they hadn't associated much in public before I'd started at Jasper High so I was genuinely curious.

" _We've been getting close for a week or so but that was the first time we did anything... What about you?_ "

"Nothing happened. We all just chatted for a while." I answered him casually, my tone conveying the shrug that I couldn't show him over the phone.

" _Suuure. So anyway, you want to hang out?_ "

"I'm sorry man but I can't. I just got home and I got a bunch of stuff to get sorted before school tomorrow." I was actually disappointed that I had to refuse but I had to make sure all my homework was done, service my car and get some basketball practice in before tomorrow so there was really no time.

" _Ah no worries man. Another time yeah? ... Wait. Got home from where?_ "

"Oh, I stayed the night at the Spencers..." My voice trailed off as I realized what he would think of that. Sure enough he gave a knowing laugh.

" _Is that so? And you said nothing happened. So?_ "

"So what? Kate was drunk and by the time I helped her home it was late and her parents offered me the guest room." I explained, leaving Chris to utter a disappointed sigh. We chatted a little longer, mostly about the AE assignment we had before he had to go and I said goodbye before hanging up.

 **Kate's POV:**

It was almost midday by the time Kate dragged herself from bed, groaning as she pulled open the window to let some fresh air into her room which smelled of alcohol. To say she hadn't slept well would be an understatement; it had been a rough night. After receiving a grilling from her parents about drinking, getting home late and so on they'd noticed that she was all but falling asleep in front of them and let her go with a promise that wouldn't be the end of it. Since then she'd been up at least twice to stagger to the bathroom and throw up.

"Urgh I'm never drinking that much again." Kate muttered to herself as she wandered into the bathroom to take a shower, catching a glance of herself in the mirror and noting that she looked about as rough as she felt. She uttered a content sigh as the water washed over her, going some way to soothing her pounding headache as she washed herself thoroughly.

Just as she finished dressing her phone notified her of a message and she wandered over, seeing it was from Angel. 'No surprise there.' Kate thought to herself with a smile as she opened it up. She wasn't sure if she was correctly remembering what had happened and if anyone could tell her it was Angel. She and Humphrey had been the least drunk the previous night but something told Kate that she didn't want to ask Humphrey to tell her as whenever she thought about him a specific memory popped into her head.

She read Angel's message and was about to reply but hesitated and instead called her, figuring it would be easier than going over everything via messages. Soon enough Angel answered the phone and Kate felt her spirits sink at Angel's tone, which she recognized very clearly and knew it meant that her memories of the party were either correct or the reality was even more embarrassing.

" _Seriously!?_ " Kate said incredulously as Angel finished explaining all that had happened. 'Oh god...' Kate thought to herself, already blushing as she imagined how awkward things would be at school tomorrow between her and Humphrey. First they had kissed and then the way she thought she remembered acting on the way home...


	34. Chapter 34: Wake up call

**Another chapter. Later than I might've wanted admittedly so sorry but I really hope you enjoy this one. I certainly enjoyed writing it. I don't do as many of these notes as some but I want to say this at least. I do read all the reviews and consider them carefully. Thank you so much for the support and please continue to tell me what you think. I need constructive criticism to make this story and future ones better than ever for you all. Anyway, enjoy xD**

 **Chapter 34: Wake up call.**

 **Humphrey's POV:**

Sunday night quickly became Monday morning, the pleasant sounds of my alarm rousing me once more to the chilly morning. It was still Summer but the combination of the mountains and how far North Jasper city was located meant that the mornings were, at best, borderline frosty all year round. After going through my usual morning routine I was ready for school, heading out and starting up my car, a slight smile on my face as the cold start caused the v8 to roar to life. I let it get warmed up a little before reversing out of the garage and beginning the drive to school which, especially on Mondays, was fairly boring due to the traffic and allowed no room to open her up at all.

It was particularly bad that morning, meaning it took just shy of half an hour for me to arrive at school, pulling into an empty spot. I let the engine idle for a moment before silencing it and getting out, grabbing my bags from the trunk and heading towards the entrance where everyone was waiting. They'd seen me arrive and I could see them watching me as I approached, a few whispers passing between a few of them as I wondered if something had happened. 'Did I do something?' I thought to myself as I arrived at the group, giving them a grin as I said hello.

No sooner had the word left my mouth however than Kate grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the school as she said something about our lockers. I wore a bewildered look as I shrugged towards the others, letting her pull me into the school and through the crowded hallways. We finally arrived at our lockers and she turned to me, looking extremely nervous as she blushed hard, looking at the floor. I felt a little flush on my own face as I suddenly realised what this must be about, memories of what had happened at and after the party rushing to the fore of my mind.

"Kate, I..." I started to say but trailed off as she suddenly met my gaze, her expression difficult to read which made me worry about what she wanted to say and how she felt about it all.

"Humphrey... About what happened, I..." Kate trailed off as well and I realised that she had no idea what to say either. 'Well this is awkward.' I thought as silence fell, grinning a little inside.

"You're my friend Kate, and we were both pretty drunk. If you want we can just forget the whole thing ever happened." I said, just managing to force the words out coherently despite the fact that my chest was tightening as I spoke them. I knew what I'd just said was basically a lie, since I had no chance of forgetting what had happened any time soon but I also didn't want to lose Kate as a friend.

"But what if... I didn't want to forget it...?" Kate said slowly, sounding a little choked up as she very pointedly looked down at her shoes. My heart all but back flipped as she said the words, stunning me into silence as I almost couldn't believe she'd spoken them.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate was practically screaming in panic internally at this point. She'd all but confessed her feelings for Humphrey and now she could only wait for his response as she looked everywhere but his face. She settled on her own shoes as silence fell between them once more for what seemed like forever but was probably only a second or two at best. 'Oh god... why isn't he saying anything? He doesn't like me. He's gonna reject me.' Kate's thoughts were running along these lines at around a hundred miles an hour and eventually she could bare the silence no longer as she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" She yelled, glancing up at his face for a split second before turning to run. He'd had a totally shocked expression and she had no idea what to make of it, only knowing that her first ever time confessing to a boy had been a total failure as she ran away from him. She honestly had no idea where she was going but she kept running regardless, ignoring the tears on her face as she continued until she couldn't take another step and fell to her knees, continuing to bawl into her hands.

Eventually the tears ran out and after a few more sobs she wiped her face, looking around at where she was. As it happened she was in stairwell that almost never got used up near the gymnasium. She hadn't heard it but she figured that it must've sounded already which meant she was late for homeroom. Just the thought of homeroom, where she sat next to Humphrey, was enough to trigger a fresh wave of emotion and accompanying tears. She looked back down at the floor with a sniff, just about to begin crying once more as she lamented how much of an idiot she was when a gentle hand on her shoulder made her flinch.

She had a suspicion she knew who it was and sure enough she looked up to see Humphrey standing there, breathing heavily. 'Of course he's here. Even if he hated me he's such a nice guy that he'd probably try to comfort me.' She thought, a bitter-sweet feeling filling her chest and tears resuming their march down her cheeks as she realised, more than ever, how amazing Humphrey was and how much it hurt.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

 _A few minutes prior._

I was racing through the thankfully now empty hallways, searching every corner for Kate. I'd been so stunned by everything that I'd been slow to chase after her and had lost her in the crowds of students. I cursed my idiocy as I ran down another hallway, checking every room that wasn't a classroom for her but finding no sign. Two somewhat panicked minutes of searching later I'd cleared the main school building and was heading towards the gym which was somewhat separate from the rest of the school. I had no idea what sort of conclusion she'd reached but it clearly wasn't a good one for her to run off crying like that so I _had_ to find her.

Finally I found her alone in a stairwell, totally oblivious to my approach as she cried. I was breathing heavily as I walked over, gently placing my hand on her shoulder to get her attention as I caught my breath.

"Finally... Found you..." I said between breaths, smiling weakly at her. There were still tears streaming down her face as she looked up at me and gave a bitter little smile before looking back down at the floor and using the sleeve of her jumper to wipe her face a little. It was a mark of how upset she was that she couldn't even do that properly, almost completely missing her tears before giving up throwing her hands down in frustration.

"I'm sorry Humphrey. Please just... leave me alone." She muttered in a dejected tone as I walked around and knelt down on one knee next to the distraught girl, softly lifting her chin so that she was looking back at me.

"You really are hopeless aren't you?" I said softly, using my sleeve to wipe away her tears and clean up her face a little. There were more than a few tears and it left a wet patch on my sleeve but I couldn't have cared less as I smiled at her now that she was looking more like herself. There was a bit of a blush on her cheeks but when I took my hands away she held my gaze, staring into my eyes with what looked like a slightly hopeful expression.

"W-what do you mean?" She whispered, searching my eyes for answers. I leaned back a little, shrugging as I shook my head and grinned.

"You didn't give me a chance to say anything." I replied in a lighter tone, hoping to pick up her mood a little. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect as she adopted a glum expression and looked back down at the floor. 'This girl...' I thought to myself.

"There's nothing that needs to be said." She said, looking as blue as anyone I had ever seen.

"You're right. There's nothing I need to say." I replied, leaning in and planting a kiss on her lips.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate's eyes widened as Humphrey's lips connected with her own. 'Am I dreaming?' Was her only thought as her mind all but shut down and she closed her eyes, losing herself in the sea of sensations that accompanied the contact. She felt as though she was floating two inches off the floor, electricity racing up and down her spine as her heart stopped beating whilst simultaneously beating twice as fast as usual. This was the second time she'd kissed Humphrey but the first time she'd been too drunk to really remember what it was like, other than that it had happened and that she'd liked it. This time around however was completely different, she felt like she was acutely aware of everything happening; like she could see every detail of Humphrey even with her eyes closed.

After a bit she felt him begin to pull away a little and quickly grabbed the front of his shirt, leaning towards him as she pulled him in. 'If this _is_ a dream then I don't want it to end.' She thought to herself as they continued kissing, Humphrey not seeming to mind that she wanted more as he complied with a smile.

Eventually however her lungs couldn't take it anymore and she had to pull away, the two of them breathing heavily as they looked into each other's eyes. Kate's lips somehow felt hot and cold at the same time in the spots where Humphrey's had been touching them.

"I didn't want to forget it either." Humphrey said quietly as he grinned at her. Kate was too giddy to speak and could only nod with a smile.

 **Humphrey's POV:**

I smiled at Kate, staring into her beautiful amber eyes as I heard some music begin to play, my vision fading to black. What felt like a moment later I slowly opened my eyes once more, confused as the scene before me was disconnected from my expectation. I realized once I awoke fully that I had been dreaming, the slight panic I'd felt replaced with a sense of disappointment as I reflected on the vivid images in my mind. 'And it was going so well...' I thought to myself as I silenced my alarm and dragged myself from bed, a wry smile coming onto my face as I considered the credence of the saying about things being 'too good to be true'.

I had an intense feeling of déjà vu for the rest of the morning as I went through my usual routine for what seemed to be the second time that day. Eventually the dream I'd had was pushed from my mind however as I sat at the table, sipping at my coffee as I considered the week ahead.

"You okay Humphrey? You're looking a little spaced out." Charlie asked me, snapping me from my thoughts as I realized she'd just said goodbye and I hadn't even reacted. I laughed a little and nodded, finishing my coffee and standing as well.

"Yeah I'm fine, just didn't sleep well. Had a strange dream. Really vivid." I replied, placing my coffee cup in the sink and joining her as we headed out into the garage and towards our respective cars. I got into the mustang, rolling the window down so that I could hear what Charlie was saying as she did the same.

"Alright then. Just make sure you're awake by the time class starts." She said, a stern look coming onto her face as she went to add something further. I had a strong suspicion it was about exercising too much on top of everything else I had to do but I didn't really want to hear it again so I turned my car on, the roar of the Boss 429 as it came to life drowning out Charlie's voice. I grinned at her and she just smiled and shook her head as she started her own car and reversed from the garage.

 **Kate's POV:**

Kate smiled and nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from Humphrey's even if she'd wanted to, his icy blue stare sending chills down her spine and filling her with warmth all at once.

"Time to wake up Miss Spencer." He said and she tilted her head in confusion, wondering why he'd say that to her. As she did so her vision began to fade, darkness seeping in from the corners of her eyes as Humphrey seemed to move further away with every moment. Kate began to panic as the wondrous moment disappeared before her eyes, replaced by the plain white paint of the ceiling above her head.

"You'll be late if you sleep in any longer Miss." Silas said in an amused tone as Kate sat up with a sigh and he placed the tray of breakfast on the bed before her. 'Just a dream?' She thought to herself as she contemplated the delicious meal before her that was a good attempt to but by no means replaced what she felt she'd just lost, even if it hadn't been real.

"Thanks Silas." She said, beginning to eat as he left her alone with her thoughts, all of which were concentrated on a certain boy with blue eyes and the vivid memory she had of the moment they'd shared which had never happened. Kate wasn't exactly sure how she felt about all of this since she'd only known Humphrey for two weeks or so but the dream was soon driven from her mind as the morning progressed and she got ready for and headed to school.


End file.
